Choosing your profile picture on WhatsApp may seem trivial or even random. We attribute it to our mood, but psychologists who study our online behavior assure us that this small image actually reveals a profound act of digital self-representation. With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp is a much more intimate personal communication platform compared to other public networks such as Instagram or X (formerly Twitter).
That’s why the image you choose to represent yourself on this app is much more revealing than you think. Ultimately, your profile picture is an extension of your identity and reveals personality traits that you may not have been aware of. This premise is supported by several academic studies, including “The Relationship Between Problematic Internet Use, WhatsApp, and Personality,” which we will explain below.
The Digital Self
To understand what your profile picture means, we must first understand the universal language of personality used in psychology: the “Big Five” Model, with the acronym OCEAN:
- Openness to experience, which measures curiosity, imagination, and appreciation for art and novelty.
- Conscientiousness, which encompasses discipline, organization, and goal orientation.
- Extroversion, associated with sociability, energy, and a tendency to seek external stimuli.
- Agreeableness, reflecting cooperation, empathy, and warmth in social relationships.
- Neuroticism, which measures the tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety or worry. It is also known as “emotional instability.”
Psychologists who study digital presence operate under the extended real life hypothesis. That is, our online behavior—including the choice of photos that do not publicly represent us on the Internet—is not an alter ego, but an authentic manifestation of who we are offline.
Profile picture vs. personality
Research on the type of photo chosen for profile pictures revealed clear correlations with these five traits. More extroverted people will always choose a selfie or a group photo. In fact, the profiles of more extroverted people used photos with warmer and brighter colors, reflecting their positive energy. They also chose photos in which they appeared with positive facial expressions (such as open smiles).
The use of group photos, although counterproductive when you have to identify a single person on WhatsApp, shows a deep appreciation for social connection and a wide network of acquaintances. These people also change their photos frequently, suggesting greater adaptability to circumstances.
Then there are the reserved people, who opt for landscapes, symbolic images, pets, or even memes. These highly introverted people avoid showing their faces as a subtle privacy mechanism that allows them to keep their personal sphere protected. It’s very typical to receive a message from someone like this, and when you try to identify them, they are posing with their back to a natural landscape. Very beautiful and poetic, but if you don’t have their number saved in your contact list, it’s a little frustrating not to even know who they are.
Then there were users who used black-and-white photos or completely abstract images. This type of user has a cautious, reserved personality, preferring to maintain a minimalist and professional presence on social media. It is also a conscious way of avoiding being judged by their appearance.
Additional findings
In addition to studying what type of person uses one type of profile photo or another, they also studied what type of person is more impulsive in their overall use of the Internet. This type of impulsive person is also more prone to experiencing negative consequences (such as anxiety or stress) when they use WhatsApp excessively.
The use of filters, effects, or photo editing was also studied as part of the neuroticism paradigm. The editing of images that are then published is interpreted as an attempt to strictly control the perception of others. This reflects the anxiety or concern inherent in the trait, which indicates that this type of person tries by all means to mitigate being judged negatively.