Living in the 21st century requires you to stay up to date with the latest technological advances. Since the development of social networking sites, people are now able to create a carefully crafted identity for themselves. This has led psychologists to wonder how well these online personalities match the person in front of the computer. The innovative branch of media psychology examines how social networks portray individuals and initiate human interactions within a society. A key question is: how well are people able to get to know each other through social networking sites? In a research study, Psychster Inc. explored the characteristics of profile pictures and their association with impression. Using a specially designed social networking site, http://www.YouJustGetMe.com, Psychster analyzed 1,316 first impressions of profile owners who had posted photographs as part of a complete profile (Steele, Evans, & Green, 2008). The results suggest that photographs in which the profile owners were smiling, outdoors, and shown with others were associated with greater agreement on impressions. Some findings implied that other aspects of photographs, such as head coverage and weight, also influenced the concordance of impressions depending on the gender of the profile owner (Steele, Evans, & Green, 2008). Overall, this research suggests that visitors to online profiles are likely to see the profile owners just as the owners see themselves, even if they have never met before. In another study, University of Texas psychologist Samuel Gosling measured the correlation between active and deactivated personalities. line of 133 undergraduates with Facebook profile. Gosling found that students' personalities were accurately represented online, by contrast... half the paper... or 1000 words? Photographic characteristics associated with personality impression agreement. Psychster, Retrieved from http://psychster.com/library/SteeleEvansGreen_ICWSM09.pdfSuler, J. Ph.D. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. Cyberpsychology and behavior. Volume 7, Number 3. Retrieved from http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/blogfiles/apuntes-cientificos-desde-el-mit/71994_Suler.pdfUOPX Writer Network (2010). The psychology of social media addiction. University of Phoenix: College of Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.phoenix.edu/colleges_divisions/social-sciences/articles/2010/08/the-psychology-of-social-media-addiction.htmlWilson, C. (2007). Staying true to yourself. The students' Facebook profiles, apparently, correspond to the real ones. US News & World Report. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070708/16facebook.htm