Online Self-disclosure Research Articles

Chirp: The Impact of Private Online Self-Disclosure on Perceived Social Support

As social media continues to grow as a space for emotional self-disclosure, it is important to understand whether self-disclosure acts as a causal factor impacting positive outcomes for users. Thus we developed Chirp, an anonymous social media sandbox space designed to explore the underlying effects of disclosure within online spaces. Users in Chirp are prompted to self-disclose moods and emotions using emojis. Through a between-subjects study among a cohort of first-year undergraduate student users on Chirp, we evaluate the effect of self-disclosure within semi-private online spaces on social support. While Chirp use does not show a significant increase in measured feelings of social support, user responses suggest that self-disclosure in Chirp may provide more social support than typical social media use or simple mood tracking over a two-week period. Our findings indicate that even in pseudo-anonymous, low-bandwidth communication platforms, self-disclosure may cause increased feelings of social support. This work highlights the impact of communication in semi-private online spaces on perceived social support.

Self-Regulation of Internet Behaviors on Social Media Platforms

The current research sought a comprehensive understanding about the consequences of information-sharing behavior on social media, given public concerns about privacy violations. We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the influence of the self on “revealing” and emotional “healing” experiences online. Respondents completed a survey measuring sense of self and motivations for using social media, as well as revealing and healing attitudes and behavior. We conducted a principal component factor analysis on separate parts of the survey and ran Pearson correlations of the emerging factors. Qualitative data describing experiences of online self-disclosure were used to illustrate the correlational findings. The “revealing” factors contrasted adaptive with maladaptive and naïve posting. The sense of self, as well as motivations for social media use, influenced whether users engaged in destructive posting behaviors. The “healing” factors were associated with positive motivations for self-disclosure, seeking a supportive online community, and building resilience. Correlational data revealed that respondents with an insecure or asocial sense of self felt the greater need for online self-disclosure. Motivations to self-disclose online and experiences of “healing”, with the help of a supportive online community, depended on whether the sense of self was secure, insecure, or asocial.

Navigating who I was and who I am online: How people with dementia use social media platforms to support identity.

A diagnosis of dementia can have a powerful impact on identity, and social media platforms offer promising avenues for identity expression and reconciliation. Addressing limited research in this area, we used semi-structured interviews to explore how 10 people with dementia used social media to navigate their identity. Our thematic analysis produced four themes, showing how social media platforms afford unique opportunities for self-expression, visibility, and association, thereby empowering users to maintain their sense of self, challenge stereotypes, and foster community connections. Additionally, social media facilitated a multifaceted and holistic sense of identity beyond the confines of diagnosis. While there were concerns about online self-disclosure, sharing experiences of dementia had therapeutic benefits, aiding in acceptance and adjustment. Participants also leveraged social media to establish continuity between their pre- and post-diagnostic selves, providing a sense of stability amid uncertainty. With the increasing prevalence of social media use among people with dementia, proactive measures by healthcare professionals, policymakers, technology developers, and carers are required to cultivate online experiences that are safe, supportive, and inclusive of people with dementia.

I don’t care, I share! – The importance of self-disclosure overwrites the risks of sharing on Social Media

High levels of self-disclosure on different Social Media platforms are part of our everyday lives nowadays. Users tend to share detailed information about their personal lives willingly while often underestimating its negative consequences. Previous studies emphasize the complexity of the processes of online self-disclosure. Our aim with this current research is to examine how online self-disclosure is influenced by different psychological factors: the attitude towards the value of the users’ own data, perceived control over personal information and perceived risks associated with sharing on Social Media, with a multimethod study. In Study 1, a qualitative approach was introduced (N = 37), in Study 2, we conducted an online survey on a representative sample (N = 1597). In Study 1, we found that participants often underestimate the value of their own personal data and its usability by others. This (incorrect) interpretation gives them an increased sense of confidence about the security of their personal data in online contexts and facilitates them to share personal information on Social Media. In line with this, in Study 2 we found that the more the participants engage in self-disclosure on Social Media, the less risky they perceive their online activity. This suggests, the importance of sharing may overwrite the risks of sharing. Our results also show that higher engagement in online self-disclosure comes with a higher sense of control, which in turn decreases risk perception on Social Media sites. In sum, processes of self-disclosure on Social Media are influenced by not just the users’ sense of control and risk perception but their perceptions towards the value of their own personal data.

Creation and validation of the online self-disclosure via educational platforms scale

Globally, higher education (HE) institutions now implement some element of hybrid learning, heightened since the COVID-19 pandemic and temporary shift to online learning. To communicate, online self-disclosure (revealing information about the self) is required. The majority of HE students are aged between 18-24 years, which is considered the developmentally sensitive period of ‘emerging adulthood’. Having only ever known a digitally-connected world, emerging adults self-disclose differently to other generations when communicating via an online environment. Whilst communicating online with HE staff, students may self-disclose in a way that misaligns with the expectations of staff; this may result in miscommunication or over-disclosure (revealing inappropriate information to a misjudged audience). Over-disclosing via online educational platforms (e.g., Moodle, MS Teams, and e-mail) may result in negative feedback from staff and this may impact student experience, engagement and attainment. Problematically, no standardized measure exists that captures student self-disclosure via online educational platforms and so research on this topic is currently limited and theoretically unstable. Via a three-phase study, comprising four studies and 283 participants, we have created and conducted an initial evaluation of the online self-disclosure via educational platforms (OSDEP) scale. The OSDEP scale is the first psychometric tool to specifically measure HE students’ online self-disclosure behaviors specifically within an online educational context. The OSDEP scale can be used for future educational and pedagogical research to further understand HE students’ online self-disclosure behaviors and to what extent these may be associated with topics such as mental health, engagement, attainment, and student experience.

The Relationship between Intimate Friendship and Online Self-Disclosure in Second Instagram Account Users

The Relationship between Intimate Friendship and Online Self-Disclosure in Second Instagram Account Users

Educating Cancer on TikTok: Expanding Online Self-Disclosure of Cancer Patients

Educating Cancer on TikTok: Expanding Online Self-Disclosure of Cancer Patients

Seeing the forest and the trees: a meta-analysis of the antecedents to online self-disclosure

PurposeA wealth of studies have identified numerous antecedents to online self-disclosure. However, the number of competing theoretical perspectives and inconsistent findings have hampered efforts to obtain a clear understanding of what truly influences online self-disclosure. To address this gap, this study draws on the antecedent-privacy concern-outcome (APCO) framework in a one-stage meta-analytical structural equation modeling (one-stage MASEM) study to test a nomological online self-disclosure model that assesses the factors affecting online self-disclosure.Design/methodology/approachUsing the one-stage MASEM technique, this study conducts a meta-analysis of online self-disclosure literature that comprises 130 independent samples extracted from 110 articles reported by 53,024 individuals.FindingsThe results reveal that trust, privacy concern, privacy risk and privacy benefit are the important antecedents of online self-disclosure. Privacy concern can be influenced by general privacy concern, privacy experience and privacy control. Furthermore, moderator analysis indicates that technology type has moderating effects on the links between online self-disclosure and some of its drivers.Originality/valueFirst, with the guidance of the APCO framework, this study provides a comprehensive framework that connects the most relevant antecedents underlying online self-disclosure using one-stage MASEM. Second, this study identifies the contextual factors that influence the effectiveness of the antecedents of online self-disclosure.

Exploring the Impact of Self-Esteem on Online Self-Disclosure of Second Account Users on Instagram: Trust as a Mediator

Exploring the Impact of Self-Esteem on Online Self-Disclosure of Second Account Users on Instagram: Trust as a Mediator

Online self-disclosure: An interdisciplinary literature review of 10 years of research

The term “self-disclosure” refers to actions by which individuals reveal information about themselves. The interest in such conduct has resurged with the development of networked participatory technologies, which enable creation, dissemination, analysis, and use of large amounts of personal information, thereby increasingly augmenting the effect of online self-disclosure on disclosers and disclosees. This article reviews 309 empirical studies about online self-disclosure published between 2010 and 2020 and aggregates insights thereof into an overarching model describing the ways in which this socio-technical undertaking unfolds. The review shows that online self-disclosure research overwhelmingly focuses on the individual and de-emphasizes structural elements that influence these practices and their outcomes. Based on these findings, we propose a structurational framework centered on the dialectic relationship between individuals and structures involved in self-disclosure and affected by such behaviors. This approach provides a useful tool to address the recent transformations of self-disclosure and its implications in the wake of computer-mediated technological developments.

Effects of online and offline social capital on social self-efficacy and online self-disclosure

Effects of online and offline social capital on social self-efficacy and online self-disclosure

부모관여가 청소년의 사이버폭력 피해경험에 미치는 영향

Recently, school violence is transforming into a form of cyberbullying as the use of smartphones increases. Due to the non-face-to-face nature, anonymity, and borderlessness of the Internet, cyberbullying among adolescents spreads at a very rapid rate, occurs collectively, and occurs at a very serious level due to a low sense of responsibility. It was assumed that parental involvement online would significantly affect cyberbullying victimization by suppressing adolescents' awareness of online self-disclosure. As a result of the study, a significant relationship was confirmed between parental involvement and cyberbullying victimization experience, and the mediating effect of adolescents' awareness of online self-disclosure was also significant. In other words, it suggests that awareness of online self-disclosure can significantly mediate the process through which parental involvement affects the experience of cyberbullying victimization. Based on the analysis results, this study presents an effective intervention strategy for parental involvement in cyberbullying damage among adolescents. Regular education to help teenagers who use the Internet and smartphones clearly recognize the risks of self-disclosure will be a way to help them form healthy cyber usage habits.

“I stand up for us”: Muslims’ feelings of stigmatization in response to terrorism on social media

Terrorism has the potential to divide societies. It is particularly relevant to investigate how Islamist terrorism on social media is associated with Muslim minorities’ attitudes and behaviors. This study examined how seeing terrorism on social media relates to Muslim minority individuals’ perceived stigmatization. We further investigated how perceived stigmatization translates to social media behaviors, namely, terror-related online self-disclosure and correction of false information about religion. A survey among German Muslims ( N = 432) showed that social media use for information about terrorism was positively associated with perceived stigmatization. This relationship was moderated by individuals’ national identity, but not religious identity. Perceived stigmatization, in turn, positively predicted terror-related online self-disclosure and correction of false information about religion. The findings accentuate the role of social media use for minorities to cope and stand up for their in-group in the face of terror.

Psychological effect of confucianism on online self-disclosure among Chinese university students: the mediating role of life satisfaction

Psychological effect of confucianism on online self-disclosure among Chinese university students: the mediating role of life satisfaction

Online Self-Disclosure and Self-Concept Clarity Among Chinese Middle School Students: A Longitudinal Study.

The relationship between online self-disclosure and self-concept clarity has been previously examined through cross-sectional studies. This study examined causal connections between online self-disclosure and self-concept clarity among Chinese middle school students using longitudinal data collected over 18 months. Participants were 535 seventh-grade students aged 12-14 years (Mage = 12.93, SD = 0.54, 43.18% girls), assessed four times, six months apart. In a random intercept cross-lagged panel model, self-concept clarity significantly predicted online self-disclosure. Latent growth mixture modeling identified two distinct growth trajectories for both online self-disclosure (Rapid change, 7%; Slow change, 93%) and self-concept clarity (Rapid change, 8%; No change, 92%). Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that changes in self-concept clarity influenced the developmental trajectory profile of online self-disclosure. Although male and female students differed in online self-disclosure and self-concept clarity, gender differences in the developmental trajectory profiles of online self-disclosure and self-concept clarity were not significant. Supporting adolescents in developing a clear self-concept to mitigate risks associated with excessive online self-disclosure is important.

The impact of parenting style and online self-disclosure on parental authority recognition: A case study of the "digital native" generation

The impact of parenting style and online self-disclosure on parental authority recognition: A case study of the "digital native" generation

Online Self-Disclosure, Social Support, and User Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We investigate relationships between online self-disclosure and received social support and user engagement during the COVID-19 crisis. We crawl a total of 2,399 posts and 29,851 associated comments from the r/COVID19_support subreddit and manually extract fine-grained personal information categories and types of social support sought from each post. We develop a BERT-based ensemble classifier to automatically identify types of support offered in users’ comments. We then analyze the effect of personal information sharing and posts’ topical, lexical, and sentiment markers on the acquisition of support and five interaction measures (submission scores, the number of comments, the number of unique commenters, the length and sentiments of comments). Our findings show that: (1) users were more likely to share their age, education, and location information when seeking both informational and emotional support as opposed to pursuing either one; (2) while personal information sharing was positively correlated with receiving informational support when requested, it did not correlate with emotional support; (3) as the degree of self-disclosure increased, information support seekers obtained higher submission scores and longer comments, whereas emotional support seekers’ self-disclosure resulted in lower submission scores, fewer comments, and fewer unique commenters; and (4) post characteristics affecting audience response differed significantly based on types of support sought by post authors. These results provide empirical evidence for the varying effects of self-disclosure on acquiring desired support and user involvement online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this work can assist support seekers hoping to enhance and prioritize specific types of social support and user engagement .

Adolescent sadfishing on social media: anxiety, depression, attention seeking, and lack of perceived social support as potential contributors

BackgroundSympathy-seeking negative online self-disclosure, or “sadfishing,” has proliferated in social media. This study investigates sadfishing by developing and validating a brief self-report questionnaire of the construct and exploring potential psychological correlates.MethodsA total of 345 Iranian adolescent social media users (Mage = 16.29, SDage = 1.52) participated in the study. Participants completed the newly constructed Social Media Sadfishing Questionnaire, in addition to measures of anxiety, depression, attention seeking, perceived social support, and social media use integration.ResultsFactor analyses revealed a unidimensional structure of the 5-item Social Media Sadfishing Questionnaire. The questionnaire yielded sound construct validity and internal consistency. Anxiety, depression, and attention seeking were positively associated with sadfishing, while perceived social support from family and friends was negatively associated with sadfishing. Negative online reactions to sadfishing were rare. Boys reported higher sadfishing tendencies than girls at age 12; however, sadfishing in boys declined at a higher rate than in girls with age.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that negative affect and attention seeking, combined with feelings of low social support, can be associated with adolescent sadfishing on social media. The quantitative results shed new light on the contribution of psychosocial factors to sadfishing.

Hubungan Antara Kesepian dengan Online Self-Disclosure pada Remaja yang Menggunakan Instagram di Bukittinggi

Loneliness is a subjective feeling that arises through emotional reactions and is the result of an individual's perception of interpersonal relationships and satisfaction with social relationships. Online self-disclosure exists as a form of coping with the loneliness felt by teenagers. Instagram is a social media for online self-disclosure. This research aims to obtain empirical data and to determine the relationship between loneliness and online self-disclosure among teenagers who use Instagram in Bukittinggi. This research uses a correlational quantitative approach. The subjects of this study amounted to 297 teenage Instagram users in Bukittinggi using cluster random sampling techniques. Data is processed using product moment correlation with SPSS 25 for windows. The results of the analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between loneliness and online self-disclosure in adolescents who used Instagram in Bukittinggi.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Online Self-Disclosure Research

The online environment spreads a strong culture of self-disclosure by providing individuals with countless opportunities for social interaction. This spread has accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the culture of self-disclosure in the online environment increases, it is curious how families, students, and educators are affected by the situation. It is important for psychological counselors who are engaged in adaptive, preventive, and remedial work in schools to investigate the opportunities and risky aspects of online self-disclosure. It should be carefully examined to see how it will add innovations to counselors' practices. This study aims to present a publication profile on online self-disclosure through bibliometric analysis. In this context, only 256 articles published in English and Turkish related to education, psychology, and family were analyzed. According to the findings, the country with the highest number of publications on online self-disclosure was the USA. The most publishing institutions are universities in the USA. The most productive year on the subject was 2021. It was determined that more and more effective publications were made with adolescents. The most frequently repeated keyword is self-disclosure, while social disruption is the most frequently repeated keyword in terms of psychological factors. It can be said that online self-disclosure is in its infancy in both educational and psychological counseling literature.