Damn Facebook racists. Apparently that’s what we’re all becoming, according to a study recently published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. Psychologists Shannon Rauch and Kimberley Schanz found the social network to be particularly powerful in spreading racist messages between users.

“Frequent users are particularly disposed to be influenced by negative racial messages,” the authors wrote.

Researchers argue that heavy Facebook users use the site to seek social inclusion rather than information. Basically, Facebook addicts aren’t just there to play Farmville and read interesting posts. They want to belong to a community. And just like that wimpy kid in high school, they’ll agree with whatever is posted without really thinking about it—just to go along with the group. So that clique mentality—a combination of “a need to connect and an ethos of shallow processing”—is creating an atmosphere where racial thoughts proliferate.

In their research, Raunch and Schanz studied 623 Internet users—95 percent of whom had Facebook accounts. Participants were asked how often they checked Facebook, with responses ranging from “less than once a week,” to “20 or more times per day.” Then they read one of three versions of a Facebook notes page belonging to “Jack Brown,” a 26-year-old white male. We all know Jack… he’s a fucking bigot if there ever was one.

One version of “Jack’s” page included a “superiority message” in which Jack “contrasted the behaviors of black and white individuals, only to find consistent superiority of whites.” Jack’s second page contained a “victim message,” in which he argued that “whites are the most oppressed racial group in America.” The third version of Jack’s page included an “egalitarian message”—a post in which Jack provided examples of anti-black racism that he had witnessed.

After viewing Jack’s page, participants were asked how much they agreed with whatever version of his message they read, as well as how accurate they found  the information to be and how much they liked “Jack” and how likely they were to share the post or argue against it.

Guess what the researchers found? When it came to the egalitarian message, participants all felt pretty much felt the same, regardless how often they used Facebook. But those who read the superiority message were much more likely to agree if they were frequent Facebook users than those who seldom log on to the site.

What the hell? Is Facebook made up of a bunch of racist assholes, or what? According to the researchers, “Frequent Facebook users are likely susceptible to negative persuasive messages because they engage in less critical processing, either because of their online experiences or personality traits. Agreement and positive attitudes are driven by a need to belong and connect with others.”

So does Facebook make people less likely to process their own thoughts and form their own opinions, or are the weak-minded more likely to use Facebook frequently? It’s the chicken and the egg all over again, right? Maybe not.

The study authors noted that the minority of Facebook users who report they use the site to find information and express opinions were more likely to reject the racist messages. That group “appeared to discriminate between messages” to a greater degree than the others.

“This is a sobering finding, given that Facebook has become increasingly commonplace, and… information seeking is not a primary motivation of most Facebook users,” Raunch and Schanz wrote.

The moral of the story? Grow up! Think for yourself! Don’t feel you need to “like” and “share” every ridiculous post just because your 500 Facebook BFFs say it’s true. You’re not in high school anymore, and Facebook is not the cool kids’ table in the cafeteria.