It's 1:54 a.m., and I'm taking another quiz. This one is going to tell me where I should live based on my brunch choices. How exciting. Why am I bothering to click through these trivial questions? I know that if this quiz tells me anything except that I'm destined to live in a bungalow by the beach then I'm going to be disappointed. So why bother? Well, I do it because I want validation. I want somebody, even if it's a Buzzfeed quiz or a Facebook "analyzer," to tell me that I belong somewhere.
As people made for relationship, we want to be known and we want to be understood. It is in our human nature to seek out community and find identity. Long-term, people satisfy this need for community with relationships, work, religion, clubs, or organizations. These people and places give us a home, a place of recognition, and familiarity, however, they take time and effort. Real community isn't created overnight so we look for a short-term solution. Personality test, quizzes, and click bait-"what x says about x"-links provide us with a burst of fulfillment and the satisfaction we long for from community.
Even better than the multi-question quizzes are the zodiac based results, the Facebook profile analyzers, and the thing we have no control over. This type of stuff, whether you truly believe they are accurate or not, provide instant gratification. With the touch of a button, we belong. With little to zero interaction with the outside world, we experience community. That's why every time the Chinese New Year rolls around, everyone suddenly knows whether they were born in the year of the pig or the dog and how that totally explains why Sally and her boyfriend John can't get along. Our generation loves to be told who we're compatible with, where we need to be going, and what in the world we should be doing with our lives. We're insecure, unsure, and looking for answers.
I'm not suggesting anybody actually makes their life decisions off internet quizzes, but I do believe we enjoy them because they give us answers we're afraid to find on our own. They give us something to hold on to in a world of uncertainty. I’m not advocating for a ban on personality tests and quizzes. They're fun, light-hearted, and can often promote community on social media, but perhaps we need to realize what we're really hunting. We need to be ale to take the time and evaluate ourselves, looking for what were missing and working to find the friends, places, and people we can learn to call home.
