There was a time when people believed that a relationship existed between blood types and personalities. They asked each other’s blood type casually to find out about their personalities. A similar phenomenon has been recently observed among young people, although the subject is no longer about blood type personality. It is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The trending MBTI is a free personality test that can be done online in a few minutes. After taking the test, its result tells you what type of MBTI you are and describes some specific characteristics about you. Lately, the result of this test can easily be seen and heard in many people’s conversations, TV programs, YouTube videos and social media platforms. In the past, many people said that the connection between blood type and personality did not have a scientific basis. Just like that, some are insisting that it is the same for the online MBTI test. However, it is clear that MBTI is a simple way to add spice to your life. The Chonnam Tribune looked into the reasons why MBTI is such a popular trend among young adults.

The Popularity of MBTI
    People do not know much about themselves. It is important to know about oneself when making a choice. That is why they tend to want to know about themselves. Especially people around the age of twenty must make lots of choices because they have many things to decide such as what classes they would like to take and what kind of job they would like to get after graduation. They are also pursuing the ‘Na Na Land’ trend, which represents the lifestyle of ‘me being myself’ and putting an emphasis on an individual’s uniqueness and diversity. Therefore, they think that their choices must be made by taking their individuality into consideration. They started to think deeply about themselves. MBTI is a perfectly easy way for people to understand themselves. It describes a person in specific words and tells them about their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, it seems reasonable enough to respect their individuality since there are 16 different types of MBTI.

Discovering and Sharing Personality Types
    Many freshmen and sophomores at universities first get in touch with psychology tests or MBTI tests to decide on their career. Here is an example of an imaginary student. A 20-year-old college student took the MBTI test and decided on his career path after getting a good grasp on his tendencies. He found out through the test that he was an emotional type INFJ. He also found out that this type of person can read other people's emotions sensitively and handle them. So, he can consider a job such as a teacher or a psychologist who deals with emotions.
    Young people have a tendency to share their MBTI personality types on their social media. They talk about the differences and similarities between their types or how close their type is to their actual personality. Lee Han-gyeol (Freshman, Dept. of Biology Education) said, “My MBTI result was ENFJ. ENFJs are known as great leaders and they like being leaders. My friends and I talked about my MBTI type and everyone could agree with it.” Programs that tell us how interactions happen between certain MBTIs were also shared on social media. These programs tell us how certain kinds of MBTIs can become best friends or have conflicts on some occasions. However, this whole sharing trend was not just about communicating. Behind this, there was a desire to express who exactly a person is and imply what kind of words we need to be cautious with when we are around them in order not to hurt their feelings.

Fun Ways to Enjoy MBTI
    As such, MBTI has become a trend among young adults. It is starting to be used in various fields, not just to know about myself and others around me. They play with MBTI in various ways, such as watching videos of other people taking the test and comparing the result with themselves. Or they role-play depending on their own MBTI personalities in certain situations. Thus, they do not have to do MBTI seriously to find out about their tendencies, but just to enjoy themselves with others. MBTI is also being made interesting in line with this trend of young adults. It is being created with topics that can only be seen as fun, such as the house where I lived in my previous life and the harmony of my personality with my favorite celebrity.
     Another way MBTI can be used is as a form of marketing. First, companies offered fascinating tests that gave them personalized results. Second, they used methods to attract the attention of customers by giving them coupons to buy their products at affordable prices. Market Kurly, an online grocery delivery company, held an event where one could take a test like MBTI. The test was called, “What if I was a food?” The test said what type of food you would be and described the reason why with a cute picture. For instance, you could be a Greek yogurt because you become happy when you carefully savor the taste of something you like. These specific, individual descriptions, as well as discounts and cute illustrations of the product led young adults to participate in this type of marketing.
 

By Han Seung-hwan, Tribune Reporter

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