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Researchers are examining Facebook in order to understand how dependent a person is on the social media platform, according to scienceworldreport.

While Facebook makes people dependent on social media in order to reach their goals, dependency is not equivalent to addiction.

Researchers studied 301 Facebook users between 18 and 68 years, who put up their status updates at least once a month. It was found that users who looked at the site to help them get a better understanding of themselves visit it more often in order to meet new people and gain attention. Those who used it to understand themselves in a deeper way tend to have "agreeable personalities but lower self-esteem".

"They might post that they went to the gym," said Amber Ferris, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Maybe they'll share a post expressing a certain political stance or personal challenge they're facing. They rely on feedback from Facebook friends to better understand themselves."

Finally, scientists found that users who used the site to meet new people also tended to be the most dependent on it.

The study also shows what drives "dependency" on the social media site. As it is becoming an important part of people's lives, its everyday influence is important to understand.