What do your Facebook status updates say about you and your relationship? The results may surprise you

We all get irritated when our Facebook feeds clog up with smug couples gloating about their wonderful relationships.

Even worst are those people who feel the need to tell everyone about their strenuous gym sessions or share snaps of their super-healthy lunches.

But new research has revealed that people who post status updates about their romantic partners have low self-esteem – while fitness freaks are big-heads.

Psychologists at Brunel University in London surveyed Facebook users to see what their status updates said about them.

Their study of 555 people who completed online surveys measuring the ‘Big Five’ personality traits – extroversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness – unveiled some surprising results.

Too good to be true: People who post about their relationships 'have low self-esteem'

While people who boast about their love lives are more insecure, gym-addicts and health nuts are typically narcissists.

The research examined the personality traits and motives that influence the topics people choose to write about in their status updates – something that few studies have explored before.

The research found:

    People with low self-esteem more frequently post status updates about their current romantic partner

    Narcissists more frequently post about their achievements, which is motivated by their "need for attention and validation from the Facebook community"

    These updates also receive a greater number of likes and comments, suggesting that narcissists’ boasting may be reinforced by the attention they crave

    Narcissists also write more status updates about their diet and exercise routines, suggesting they use Facebook to broadcast the effort they put into how they look

Psychology lecturer Dr Tara says: "It might come as little surprise that Facebook status updates reflect people’s personality traits.

"However, it is important to understand why people write about certain topics on Facebook because their updates may be differentially rewarded with likes and comments."

Dr Tara added: "People who receive more likes and comments tend to experience the benefits of social inclusion, whereas those who receive none feel ostracized."

She said what we have all been secretly thinking – while we may physically click 'like' on a bragging pal's Facebook update, we're secretly annoyed by it.

Dr Marshall said: "Although our results suggest that narcissists’ bragging pays off because they receive more likes and comments to their status updates, it could be that their Facebook friends politely offer support while secretly disliking such egotistical displays.

"Greater awareness of how one’s status updates might be perceived by friends could help people to avoid topics that annoy more than they entertain."