Facebook Can Predict Virtually Everything About You

facebook_bubbleAccording to an article published by Forbes this week, the largest social media site in the world can predict almost anything about you using the data that you’ve given it, including your political affiliation, your future relationships and even your sibling’s name.

According to Pew Research data, about six in 10 Americans use Facebook every single day. That means the site possesses an enormous amount of data on user habits. Using the information, it can successfully predict the outcome of political elections. (Analyzing the amount of likes or engaged users a political candidate has on the site is a good indicator of their future success.) Researchers can also chart the rise and fall of personal, romantic relationships using the site’s data.

“During the 100 days before the relationship starts, we observe a slow but steady increase in the number of timeline posts shared between the future couple,” Carlos Duik, a data scientist, wrote. In other words, you may not even know you’re headed toward a loving partnership with someone, but by looking at your pattern of posts, Facebook could.

While most of this information is harmless, it’s still more than a little creepy that it’s so easy to analyze. But with Facebook’s dedication to gathering as much data on its users as possible, the best way to avoid this kind of prying is to not post your personal details on the site at all.

Here is a funny, yet thought-provoking spoof on YouTube about the ‘Facebook Program.’