London - Women may like to think they are the focus of their husband’s thoughts.
But it seems men are more interested in sports, music and politics – or at least they are when they’re writing on Facebook.
A study of language on the social network found that while “husband” is among the words most commonly used by women, “wife” is not one of those frequently used by men.
Instead, males were likely to write posts about “winning”, “songs” or “government”. According to researchers, the findings “fit gender stereotypes” that suggest women are more focused on relationships and emotion while their husbands are more impersonal.
“In many ways, the topics most used by women versus men are not surprising,” said study author Dr Margaret Kern, a psychologist at Melbourne University. “Computer methods let us make visible what the human mind does to categorise people and things.”
The study of 65 000 Facebook users, published in the journal PLoS One, used computer analysis to identify language topics and single words used by different sexes.
As well as mentioning their husbands, women used more compassionate and polite language.
“Excited”, “baby”, “loving”, “friends”, “dearly”, “adorable” and “thankful” were among the words most commonly used – as well as various family members. Meanwhile men chose more hostile or aggressive topics, such as sports or fighting, and were more likely to swear.
The word groups they chose were linked to competition, politics and specific activities – such as shooting guns, playing musical instruments, or video games. They also used spatial terms such as “above” and “over”.
The most common words for men included “war”, “victory”, “power”, “enemy”, “football” and “singer” – however “wife” was not on the list.
The study also found that males and females used language that was equally assertive.
Dr Andrew Schwartz, from Stony Brook University, in New York said that looking at words on social media offered a fresh perspective on understanding gender differences.
“Here we were able to use a novel technique to explore psychological dimensions,” he said. “While some previous work suggests men are more assertive, the language in Facebook didn’t reflect this.”
Daily Mail