A picture is worth a thousand words: A content analysis of Facebook profile photographs Noelle J. Hum a , Perrin E. Chamberlin a , Brittany L. Hambright a , Anne C. Portwood a , Amanda C. Schat a , Jennifer L. Bevan b,⇑ a Department of Communication Studies, Chapman University, 1 University Drive, Orange, CA 92866, United States b Department of Communication Studies/M.S. Program in Health and Strategic Communication, Chapman University, 1 University Drive, Orange, CA 92866, United States article info Article history: Available online 4 May 2011 Keywords: Facebook Profile photographs Online identity construction Gender abstract This research examines identity construction and gender roles in social networking sites by studying and comparing the profile photographs of male and female Facebook users. Specifically, the number of photos in the profile album and the content of the main profile picture are studied by coding specific pictures, and determining if the content and amount of profile pictures differ significantly by gender. Participants include male and female Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 23 who are currently enrolled in a college or university. Profile pictures tended to be inactive, posed, appropriate, and only including the subject. The content and amount of Facebook profile photographs also did not significantly vary by gen- der. Implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction ‘‘OKAY. seriously, bye Facebook. SEE YOU GUYS JULY 16th.’’ ‘‘I tried deactivating my facebook and it worked for 48 h. epic fail.’’ These ‘‘status updates,’’ short posts by Facebook users to update their online friends on what their current state of affairs or emo- tions are, are examples of how pervasive social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook can be. At the end of 2009, 75% of online adults ages 18–24 had a profile on an SNS (Lenhart, 2009). Couple that growing number with the 500 million active Facebook users who spend over 700 billion minutes per month on the site, and it becomes quite obvious just how encompassing and time-consum- ing SNSs like Facebook are today (Facebook, 2010). It is no wonder that, for the first time, Facebook was the most-visited website in 2010 (Experian Hitline, 2010). Facebook was launched in 2004 as a ‘‘social utility that helps peo- ple communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers’’ (Facebook Factsheet, 2010, para. 1). By building a profile, each Facebook user is able to post notes, photos, links, and videos to be shared with ‘‘friends’’; that is, other members who are connected to an individual’s online social network, and thus granted access to view the individual’s profile. The ‘‘Home Page’’ allows each Facebook user to be constantly updated on the most recent postings and interactions of and among friends. Facebook users can also enable ‘‘Facebook Chat’’ to instant message online friends in real time (Face- book Factsheet; Junco & Cole-Avent, 2008). Taken together, these elements of Facebook combine to allow its users to construct an image or identity to communicate to the great- er online community. Perhaps one of the most telling pieces of self-disclosure or image construction is the profile photo, the single default photo by which Facebook users choose to identify them- selves within the entire network (Watson, Smith, & Driver, 2006). Hancock and Toma (2009) noted that, ‘‘With the emergence of profile-based social networking sites like MySpace and Face- book...online self-presentations are no longer limited to text-based descriptions. The profile photograph is now a central component of online self-presentation, and one that is critical for relational success’’ (p. 368). Indeed, 98.7% of college students in one study re- ported that they posted a photo of themselves on Facebook (Young & Quan-Haase, 2009). Despite the prevalence and importance of this image, little known research has analyzed the content of Facebook profile photographs. As such, the goal of our study is to explore what Facebook users are posting in their profile photos, as well as how this content differs by gender. Doing so will expand on the existing knowledge surrounding social media and the limits of it with respect to how and why different subpopulations of young adults use and perceive the multitude of benefits and aspects of SNSs. 1.1. Facebook and identity construction It is not the mere use of Facebook that has warranted social media research, but the motives and behaviors behind the online 0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.04.003 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Communication Studies/M.S. Program in Health and Strategic Communication, Chapman University, 1 University Drive, Orange, CA 92866, United States. Tel.: +1 714 532 7768; fax: +1 714 6287237. E-mail address: bevan@chapman.edu (J.L. Bevan). Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 1828–1833 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh