Profile update: the effects of identity disclosure on network connections and language

Abstract

Our social identities determine how we interact and engage with the world surrounding us. In online settings, individuals can make these identities explicit by including them in their public biography, possibly signaling a change in what is important to them and how they should be viewed. While there is evidence suggesting the impact of intentional identity disclosure in online social platforms, its actual effect on engagement activities at the user level has yet to be explored. Here, we perform the first large-scale study on Twitter that examines behavioral changes following identity disclosure on Twitter profiles. Combining social networks with methods from natural language processing and quasi-experimental analyses, we discover that after disclosing an identity on their profiles, users (1) tweet and retweet more in a way that aligns with their respective identities, and (2) connect more with users that disclose similar identities. We also examine whether disclosing the identity increases the chance of being targeted for offensive comments and find that in fact (3) the combined effect of disclosing identity via both tweets and profiles is associated with a reduced number of offensive replies from others. Our findings highlight that the decision to disclose one’s identity in online spaces can lead to substantial changes in how they express themselves or forge connections, with a lesser degree of negative consequences than anticipated.