Online Public Communication with a Moderation of Self-control: Anonymity and Self-concept Clarity

Abstract

This current article purposes to explore the relationship among online anonymity, self-concept clarity, public online communication and self-control. 929 volunteers were recruited to participate in the survey of Online Communication Questionnaire. 499 were females and 430 were males. The results of linear regression showed two significant direct paths to public communication behavior on the Internet: anonymous behavior predicted public online communication positively, while the clear degree of self-concept affected public online communication negatively. Through the structural equation model, a moderating effect was found to be generated by the self-control on the path of self-concept clarity to public online communication.