Do You Need Dimensional, a Social Media App for Personality Tests?
I learned a lot about myself this morning thanks to Dimensional, a social networking app that offers a variety of personality tests and invites you to compare your scores with your friends. It’s not that I’ve learned much from the tests themselves – personality tests are stupid – but I’ve found that I’m someone who can learn about an app (thanks to a Vox article in this case), download it instantly, and then rant about my friends. into it, all without questioning whether it is productive or a potential risk to my privacy. In truth, it wasn’t supposed to be a revelation; I downloaded the adorably boring BeReal app right after I found out about it in April, wrote about it for Lifehacker the same day, and have been using it every day since. Can one really get a lot of self-awareness from the Dimensional then? For you maybe. Here’s what you need to know about this trendy app.
What does Dimension do?
Dimension has been around since 2020. One of the developers says they are research psychologists; they’ve been promoting this on reddit lately. The idea is simple: you log in, take a few tests, look at the breakdown of your findings, and compare the results with those of your friends. The more people you persuade to join you, the more information you will reveal.
Your results are presented in aesthetically pleasing graphics that simply require reposting. (No, really – they beg. When you take a screenshot, the text pops up: “Posting on social media? Tag us!”) You get “snapshots” of your qualities related to your personality, work style, personal life. , and motivation. You can sort through dozens of traits (after you unlock them by answering questions) to see what they mean and how many other people are reporting similar results. You can then view lists of your greatest strengths, your worst love habits, and so on and so forth – all determined by the app.
What are the disadvantages of taking personality tests?
Personality tests are often dismissed as possible “pseudo-science”. As Simin Wazire, a personality researcher, told Scientific American , “until we test them scientifically, we can’t tell it apart from pseudoscience like astrology.” You don’t have to take any free online quizzes expecting to come up with potentially groundbreaking conclusions about yourself that most people only come to after paying psychologists big money for months or years.
Tests for Dimension vary. I was able to answer some questions to get a Myers-Briggs result that was the same as it always was when I took the other online versions of this test (ENTP, baby). Answering additional questions allowed me to better understand my intended attachment style , although this style did not match what other tests had previously shown me. (I didn’t plan on taking this seriously, and if you download the app, you’re also guaranteed a healthy dose of skepticism .)
The application reveals your “signature” features. I am “strong”. My assertiveness score was actually 93; Dimensional told me that the average score is 59. Guess I got my friends to download it. My best friend told me that her Myers-Briggs score and attachment style scores were different from those she had on past tests, although once she answered more questions I was at least able to compare our traits to with cute little graphs.
That’s the whole point of selling: it’s fun to ponder hypothetical questions and learn about yourself, even if it’s all ultimately pointless pseudoscience or you’re just confirming what you already know (because I don’t have to say I’m pushy, I promise) , but it is especially interesting to compare your results with the results of others. To be honest, what matters to me is not so much whether I’m really an ENTP, but what I can learn by discussing this result with others who have taken the same test.
What are the disadvantages?
While I was able to get a few friends to download Dimensional, two immediately refused when I submitted my referral code. Both rightly cited privacy concerns. That I was so willing to answer questions about my past relationships and whether I’ve ever lied to succeed without thinking about where that personal information might go says more about me than the app’s confidence that I have an archetype of “upward” value. (Other options were “donor”, “individualist”, and “traditionalist”.)
Dimensional’s privacy statement defines “personal information” as “information about an identifiable individual as described in applicable privacy laws.” This information may include (without limitation) your name, email address, and phone number.” The statement added that “personal information” does not include information about your job, business or profession, nor “information that has been anonymized or aggregated in such a way that there is no serious possibility of it being used to identify an individual.” , either alone or in combination with other information.”
In this regard, it is no different from other applications, although it is not very convenient . Of note is the section related to employment: on Reddit, the co-founder mentioned his previous work, opposing the use of personality testing in hiring. (Using tests like Myers-Briggs for hiring is a really bad idea .)
In addition to privacy concerns, there are two other possible downsides to consider: First, there is no Android version. Secondly, it will take you time. If you don’t have a group of iPhone-using friends with whom you’d like to discuss the results, it may not be worth answering questions for an hour or more only to find that your phone considers you an “altruist.”