Abstract
The study investigates self-disclosure by adolescents in Taiwan on the private section of Facebook, and their trust in, and intimacy with, Facebook friends in different close relationships. This study further determines the predictors of intimate self-disclosure that are mediated by trust in Facebook friends. In total, 1370 Taiwanese adolescents, via stratified random cluster sampling, filled out the validated questionnaire between March and May 2013. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance and structural equation modeling were applied to analyze data on self-disclosure, intimacy, and trust, respectively, among five levels of Facebook friends. The study demonstrates that as the closeness of friends’ increases, the amount of self-disclosure, intimacy, and trust increases. Additionally, the level of self-disclosure can predict the level of intimacy with Facebook friends. Adolescents’ trust in friends in close relationships may strengthen the development of intimacy; however, there is no such reaction in the group of unfamiliar Facebook friends.
Highlights
Social networking is pervasive, especially on Facebook
While self-disclosure is associated with the stability of a personal relationship, self-disclosure by adolescents on Facebook may depend on friends in different close relationships and adolescents may develop different levels of intimacy with friends
This study examines the relationship between self-disclosure and intimacy, which may be mediated by trust in Facebook friends
Summary
Especially on Facebook. Studies have shown that adolescents use Facebook to develop new social relationships and to reinforce pre-existing friendships (Mesch & Talmud, 2006; Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008; Subrahmanyam, Reich, Waechter, & Espinoza, 2008; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). Since adolescents are in a vital developmental stage and typically seek peer identification by developing friendships, even intimacy, through peer interactions (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010), their verbal activities with different friends with which they have different relationships on social networking websites and their potential effects have renewed interest in educational research. Rosen, Cheever, Cummings and Felt (2008) asserted that self-disclosure is complex and is affected by close relationships with friends. People disclose their personal affection for close online friends (Pornsakulvanich, Haridakis, & Rubin, 2008) and further develop a deep friendship. While self-disclosure is associated with the stability of a personal relationship, self-disclosure by adolescents on Facebook may depend on friends in different close relationships and adolescents may develop different levels of intimacy with friends
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