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Take the quiz. The most active Facebook users are:
A. People who post the most photos.
B. People who post the most status updates.
C. People who post almost nothing.

The answer is C. Call them the lurkers. Although they rarely update their own status, the quiet ones stay logged on to Facebook longer than anyone else, reading their friends' posts and looking at their friends' photos.

"The shy people spend more time on Facebook, but they disclose less information," says Dr. Pavica Sheldon, an assistant professor of communications at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, who has done several research studies on Facebook use.

For an introvert, using the site doesn't always mean posting to it, and Sheldon says her research proves that introverts spend more time on Facebook than do extroverts. "Shy people and people who are more lonely use Facebook to pass the time."

But spending more time on Facebook doesn't mean getting more benefits. The biggest relationship benefits go to extroverts, narcissists and people who want great control over how they present themselves. The more extroverted a person is, the more status posts he or she is likely to make.

"Narcissists like fame, they like to be seen," explains Sheldon. That behavior accrues more of the social benefits of Facebook to those people, who also are more socially gregarious in person.

She likens Facebook usage to the "rich get richer" hypothesis. "Those users who are richer in their offline relationships will also benefit more from their use of Facebook," says Sheldon. "The more extroverted you are, the more you will benefit."

And what about the selfie addict? Narcissists and those who score high in self-monitoring--that is, the ability to alter their behavior to adjust to changing social situations--tend to post more photos than other users. "Posting pictures gives them more control over how they are being presented," Sheldon explains.

Five fun facts to know and tell about Facebook usage:

• The main reason we use Facebook is to maintain relationships with people we know but with whom we are not physically present. Think old high school friends who live in another state.

• We rarely meet new people on Facebook. Instead, we use it to communicate with people we already know.

• We do not use Facebook as a dating site, simply because it is not a very effective "meet-and-greet" kind of place.

• There is less self-disclosure on Facebook than there is in a face-to-face conversation.

• Women divulge more personal information on Facebook than do men--just as they tend to do in face-to-face contact.

--From the Editors at Netscape