--- title: "Scientists Figured Out the Personality Traits of Influencers, and It Could Explain a Lot" description: "Young people often want to be influencers — but certain personality types appear more likely to pursue it as a career than others." date: "2025-06-08" modified: "2025-06-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/influencer-personality-traits" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "influencers" - "narcissism" - "personality" - "social media" --- # Scientists Figured Out the Personality Traits of Influencers, and It Could Explain a Lot ![Young people often want to be influencers — but certain personality types appear more likely to pursue it as a career than others.]() *\Image: Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire / John Nacion / Variety / Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for Netflix / Futurism\* More and more young people are [gunning to become influencers]() — but certain personality types appear more likely to pursue it as a career than others, which could explain a lot about the [chaotic and outrageous industry](). It's a worthwhile line of inquiry. Back in 2019, a [Lego-sponsored survey]() found that among 3,000 kids in the US, UK, and China, a full third said they wanted to be influencers, while only 11 percent indicated an interest in becoming an astronaut. What does that immensely powerful trend mean for society? In a new study published [in the journal *Telematics and Informatics*](), researchers from Poland's University of Wrocław and Oxford found that young people who are extraverted, self-involved, and — quelle surprise — dramatic were more likely to aspire to being an influencer than their more introverted and calmer counterparts. After recruiting nearly 800 participants aged 16 and 17 — roughly half of whom were Polish, with the other half based in the United Kingdom — the researchers posed a battery of questions to their teen subjects about their career goals and their dream jobs. The participants were also given questionnaires that measured how strongly they exhibit the "[Big Five]()" personality traits — openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — as well as how histrionic, or dramatic, they are. As the researchers found, those with heightened extraversion, narcissism, and histrionics — a tendency to be dramatic and expressive about it, basically — were more likely to be interested in the influencer life. Those traits correlate to a [desire to be seen]() and [validated by others]() in much the same way as with [theater kids]() — suggesting, perhaps, that the student thespians of today may be the influencers of tomorrow. Though there's been some research into [how audiences perceive]() the personalities of content creators, this study appears to be the first that looks into the traits the drive people to *become* influencers — or wannabe influencer, at least, since the career is [anything but a slam dunk]() for most who attempt it. **More on personality:** [*Hawk Tuah Girl Says She’s Horrified by What Happened With Her Crypto Launch*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()