Women From Venus, Men Still From Mars on Facebook, Study Finds

Women used warmer, gentler words in their status updates on Facebook compared to men, who were more likely to swear, express anger and use argumentative language, a study of 10 million postings found. In a bit of a surprise, the study showed that women used slightly more assertive language, said H. Andrew Schwartz, an assistant professor of computer science at Stony Brook University and one of its authors.

The study, “Women are Warmer but No Less Assertive Than Men: Gender and Language on Facebook,” was a data-driven analysis of the words used by more than 65,000 Facebook users who gave researchers permission to examine their status updates. That shift in assertiveness might reflect the cultural and societal changes brought about by a generation that heavily uses social media, said Margaret L. Kern, a senior lecturer at the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne in Australia and one of the study’s authors. In the study, the user’s average age was 26.“Those conversations have shifted over time,” she said. “On Facebook, people are friends. They’re not talking up or down to each other. Women’s writing largely reflected compassion and politeness compared with men, who were hostile and impersonal, according to the study, which Schwartz and Kern discussed in advance of the release.