Online Self-disclosure Research Articles

Understanding the Dynamics of Unwanted Online Sexual Solicitation Among Youth in Taiwan: Vulnerability and Resilience Factors.

The rise in online sexual exposure and solicitation among youth has heightened concerns. Youth, due to their limited socio-cognitive capacity, face greater risks of online sexual victimization compared to adults. Unwanted online sexual solicitation (UOSS) is a concerning aspect of sexual victimization, encompassing requests for unwanted sexual talks, activities, and sharing personal sexual information or images online. This study, based on target congruence theory, examined UOSS risk and protective factors using a national-representative youth sample in Taiwan. In 2020, 19,556 students (Grades 5-12, average age 15, 50% male) participated in the school-based online survey. Hierarchical linear regression was used to determine the significance of UOSS predictors. Findings revealed a 15.4% prevalence of UOSS. Accounting for age and gender, target-vulnerability variables (self-esteem, bullying victimization, psychological distress) and target-gratifiability variables (online self-disclosure, time spent online) significantly linked to UOSS. Youth who were bullied, had greater psychological distress and online self-disclosure, and increased Internet use were prone to UOSS, while self-esteem mitigated risks. Bullying victimization and online self-disclosure were the strongest correlates of UOSS in Taiwan's youth, followed by psychological distress, Internet usage, and self-esteem. In sum, this study enriches the understanding of UOSS among Taiwanese youth and suggests strategies to prevent online sexual victimization. Enhancing self-esteem, promoting social media education including online privacy and self-disclose, tackling bullying, addressing psychological distress, and furnishing relevant services are crucial preventive measures. These findings offer guidance to parents, educators, and health professionals for supervising and steering adolescents' online conduct, presenting an evidence-based framework to avert online sexual victimization.

Unveiling Online Self-Disclosure: A Comparative Study of Adolescents and Young Adults in The Digital Age

Tingginya penggunaan media sosial mendorong pergeseran aktivitas pengungkapan diri dari offline ke online. Padahal, perilaku pengungkapan diri online memiliki beragam risiko yang rentan dialami pengguna yang mayoritas berada di tahap perkembangan remaja dan dewasa awal. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah ada perbedaan tingkat pengungkapan diri online di media sosial antara pengguna remaja dengan dewasa awal. Desain penelitian survei kuantitatif digunakan dengan convenience sampling sebagai teknik pengambilan sampel. Sebanyak 532 pengguna media sosial remaja dan dewasa awal, baik dari Pulau Jawa maupun dari luar Pulau Jawa terlibat dalam penelitian ini. Hasil analisis independent t-test menunjukkan tidak ada perbedaan yang signifikan pada pengungkapan diri online remaja dan dewasa awal. Akan tetapi, ditemukan perbedaan pengungkapan diri online ditinjau dari wilayah domisili dan durasi akses media sosial. Pengguna dari Pulau Jawa dan pengguna yang mengakses media sosial selama 6-8 jam perhari memiliki tingkat pengungkapan diri online yang lebih tinggi. Temuan ini memperkaya pemahaman mengenai perilaku pengguna media sosial di Indonesia. Masyarakat perlu berkolaborasi untuk mengelola perilaku bermedia sosial guna menghindari risiko penggunaan media sosial yang tidak terkontrol. The high use of social media encourages a shift in offline and online self-disclosure activities. Whereas online self-disclosure behavior has various risks that are prone to be experienced by users, most of whom are in the developmental stages of adolescence and early adulthood. This study aims to determine whether there is a difference in the level of online self-disclosure on social media between adolescent and early adult users. The quantitative survey research design was used with convenience sampling as the sampling technique. This research has 532 adolescent and early adult social media users, both from Java and outside Java, who were involved in this study. The results of the independent t-test analysis showed that there was no significant difference in online self-disclosure of adolescents and early adults. However, differences in online self-disclosure were found regarding the domicile area and duration of social media access. Users from Java and users accessing social media for 6-8 hours daily have higher online self-disclosure levels. These findings enrich the understanding of the behavior of social media users in Indonesia. Communities need to collaborate to manage social media behavior to avoid the risks of uncontrolled use of social media.

The Effects of Privacy and Data Breaches on Consumers’ Online Self-Disclosure, Protection Behavior, and Message Valence

This study investigates Facebook users’ perceived benefits and risks on their self-disclosure, likelihood of protection behavior and message valence before, during and after its data breach scandal. A framework based on Protection Motivation Theory was used to test these relationships with trust as a mediator. The model was tested using data from three national consumer panel surveys. The results show that while there is temporal invariance in the model structure, Facebook users are more cautious of the risks and are more likely to engage in protection behavior due to the data breach. However, users are also more likely to weigh the benefits of social media higher than the perceived risks, which supports the consumer privacy paradox. Implications from this study such as consumer protection, privacy laws, private and public policies, and regulations are discussed.

Pattern of Facebook use by university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: relations with loneliness and resilience

Considering young adults’ extensive use of social media since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study examined the pattern of Facebook use by university students during the period of hygienic crisis. Specifically, it was investigated students’ Facebook intensity use and self-disclosure to unknown online friends, as well as the role of sense of resilience and loneliness in the manifestation of the above Facebook behaviors. Overall, 792 undergraduate and postgraduate university students (48% women) completed online self-report questionnaires regarding the above variables. Undergraduate students, regardless of gender and Department of studies, made more intense Facebook use and self-disclosure to unknown online friends. Sense of loneliness positively predicted students’ online self-disclosure not only directly but also indirectly through their Facebook intensity use. Students’ resilience negatively moderated the relationship between sense of loneliness and Facebook behaviors. The findings propose a new explanatory model of emotional and behavioral mechanisms, which leads to a less safe pattern of Facebook use. This pattern possibly reflects youth’s collective tendency to use this social media platform recklessly as a way out of crisis periods, such as the pandemic period. The emergence of this pattern could be useful for launching or enriching university counselling/prevention actions aimed at strengthening students’ psycho-emotional skills, and subsequently their prudent use of social media.

CANCER ON TIKTOK–EVALUATING POSITIVE CULTURE AND ONLINE SELF-DISCLOSURE USING DIRECTED CONTENT ANALYSIS AND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS

The presented paper characterizes TikTok practices of users with cancer and uses notions of social media as positive culture (presenting oneself without undesirable traits) and online self-disclosure understood as providing intimate, private information about oneself. The research continues the work on self-disclosure of women with breast cancer using Instagram. However, this previous research revolved around posts, and thus was limited. The current study on TikTok asks the following questions: 1) are TikTok videos disclosing information in the manner the previous research on Instagram shows? 2) What are the creators’ motivations and what meanings do they give to disclosing cancer and how do the users position themselves considering the positive culture? The study uses categories from previous work and combines qualitative directed content analysis (DCA; 862 videos are analyzed) with in-depth interviews (n=8), and these go beyond DCA to a more nuanced understanding of the users’ lived experience. Similar to Instagram, TikTok is a tool for negative (e.g., fears, anxiety, pain) and positive self-disclosure (e.g., joyful life events, self-acceptance, self-affirmation) with the prevalence of positive and educational videos (e.g. prevention, debunking stereotypes and normalizing the disease). The respondents feel especially competent to educate others because of their experiences. The research undermines the traditional understanding of online self-disclosure, as for users seeking support is not that important, compared to informing and warning others. Also, the study debunks positive culture as a too-general category, as the interviewees constitute a particular niche and seem not to care how they are perceived while disclosing cancer.

Psychosocial effects of self-disclosure among Chinese international students in Japan

This study examined the effects of four types of self-disclosure on the life satisfaction of Chinese international students studying in Japan. Using an online survey, the study found that offline self-disclosure predicted life satisfaction both directly and indirectly, mediated by received social support and perceived social support, while the direct effect of online self-disclosure was not significant. All four types of self-disclosures predicted received social support, while the social support obtained from host nationals online did not affect perceived support. The analysis also revealed that the paths were moderated by the length of residence in Japan. Only online self-disclosure positively and directly predicted life satisfaction for newcomers, while only offline self-disclosure did for those who had stayed longer. Offline received social support was perceived as helpful for both groups, while that of online predicted perceived social support only for newcomers. Theoretical implications and limitations were discussed.

Perceived customer care and privacy protection behavior: The mediating role of trust in self-disclosure

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a chance and a boost for those retailers that develop their online profile. This new context can raise privacy issues on the consumer side. For this reason, here we explore the determinants of online self-disclosure, and its relationship with customer care. We collected the data through an online survey (n = 426) and tested a variance-based structural equations model. The findings unriddle the role of perceived customer care as an antecedent of both perceived control and trust, the latter emerging as a key mediator of the impact of both perceived customer care and privacy concern on self-disclosure. Moreover, in line with previous studies, perceived control was found to be positively related with trust, and negatively with privacy concerns. According to the findings, we draw several managerial implications and suggest future research paths.

See something, say something? The role of online self-disclosure on fear of terror among young social media users

Given that terrorism is omnipresent on social media, it is imperative to study how seeing terror content online is related to individuals’ attitudes, behaviors, and emotions. This study investigates how exposure to terrorism on social media associates with terror-related online self-disclosure and how self-disclosure, in turn, relates to fear of terrorism. A quota-based survey of young social media users (16- to 25-year-olds; N = 864) in Germany revealed that exposure to Islamist and far-right terrorism is related to higher online self-disclosure. Political ideology moderated the relationship between exposure to far-right terrorism and online self-disclosure, but not when exposed to Islamist terrorism. Attitudinal differentiation was negatively associated with self-disclosure. Additionally, we found an interaction effect of exposure to Islamist terrorism and attitudinal differentiation on self-disclosure. Finally, the results showed that online self-disclosure was positively related to fear of terrorism. By and large, our findings highlight the relevance of social media for the levels of fear.

Global variations in online privacy concerns across 57 countries

Cross-cultural studies have found national differences in how concerned people are about online privacy. However, it has not yet been settled what causes this variation, and several factors have been proposed in the literature, including internet habituation, individualism, and uncertainty avoidance. Here we investigate these factors by two studies. In the first, we examine the association between online privacy concerns and a new measure of online self-disclosure norms that we introduce. We find that this measure is significantly associated with two established instruments of online privacy concerns in the literature. In the second, we analyze previously unpublished data from a questionnaire on online self-disclosure norms as assessed by this new measure. It includes replies from 18,046 adult respondents from 57 countries and six continents. We find that norms in favor of more restrictive online self-disclosure are weaker in countries with higher levels of internet penetration (r = −0.56, p < .001). Our findings suggest that higher internet penetration in a country reduces online privacy concerns. The results support the idea that habituation to online environments decreases privacy risk perceptions. An implication is that preferences for online privacy are likely to decline over time in countries where internet penetration is still low. Lastly, in conflict with previous studies, our analyses do not support the theory that online privacy concerns are associated with national cultures related to individualism or uncertainty avoidance as measured by Hofstede's indices.

WeChat Moments Among International Students: Building Guanxi Networks in China

ABSTRACT China is a collectivist nation that varies socially and culturally from most Western countries. Recently, the country has been an attractive destination for international students. A contemporary digital platform such as WeChat Moments (WMs) is a leading social media platform among locals and international students to communicate and interact in cross-cultural settings for various purposes, including maintaining friendships and establishing new social capital. Prior research has overlooked the beneficial effects of such domestic social media platforms on international students in China, especially for strengthening their existing friendship quality and guanxi networking. Based on the self-disclosure theory, this study examines the relationship between international students’ WMs use intensity, online self-disclosure, closeness to friends, and guanxi network building using data from 445 international students employing structural equation modeling. This study reveals that WMs use has a substantial effect on the formation of guanxi networks and that online self-disclosure mediates the connection between WMs use and friendship closeness and guanxi network building. Several theoretical and practical recommendations are provided in the context of the guanxi network.

基于微信的社交网站使用对老年人生活满意度的影响：网络自我表露的中介作用

基于微信的社交网站使用对老年人生活满意度的影响：网络自我表露的中介作用

Social media usage of chinese nursing students: Attitudes, motivations, mental health problems, and self-disclosure.

Excessive self-disclosure online may risk the reputations, mental health problems, and professional lives of nursing students. This study investigated nursing students' usage of social media, their attitudes towards social media, mental health problems and self-disclosures, and the relationships of these variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted online (n = 1054) with questionnaires of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Social Media Fatigue (SMF), Students' Uses and Views of Social Media (SUVSM) and self-disclosure in social media which included self-information shown on social media and information viewed by others. Although most of them held positive attitudes towards social media, 17.4% of the participants acknowledged that they had posted inappropriate contents online and 37.6% witnessed improper posts from schoolmates or teachers online. SMF was affected by familiar with relevant regulations on the social media usage (β = -.10, p < .001), FoMO (β = .41, p < .001), and SUVSM (β = .17, p < .001). Additionally, nearly 1/3 participants reported their net-friends could view following information: gender, age, occupation, education level and location. Self- disclosure in social media was positively influenced by education (β = .10, p < .001), sharing moments or Weibo, etc. (β = .009, P = 0.009), time spent on social media daily (β = .11, p < .001), accepting stranger's "friend request" (β = .06, P = 0.047), FoMO (β = .14, p < .001) and SMF (β = .19, p < .001). Furthermore, effect of SUVSM on self-disclosure in social media was mediated by FoMO and SMF. Inappropriate contents are posted and witnessed by appreciable proportions of nursing students. Positive attitude towards social media may strengthen FoMO and SMF, which may increase self-disclosure in social media in turn.

How is circadian preference associated with cyber-victimization? A moderated mediation model of hostile recognition and online self-disclosure in Chinese early adolescent students.

Although circadian preference is widely accepted to be a risk factor in the increase of adolescents' negative experiences, little is known about its association with cyber-victimization. The current study sought to examine whether eveningness was significantly related to adolescents' negative experiences. We further examined in-victimization events and whether hostile recognition and online self-disclosure played a vital role in eveningness and adolescents' cyber-victimization. Study participants included 583 adolescents from four middle schools in China who completed questionnaires regarding their circadian preference, hostile recognition, online self-disclosure, and experience with cyber-victimization. Results indicated that adolescents with a high level of eveningness were more likely to experience cyber-victimization. Hostile recognition significantly mediated the relationship between eveningness and adolescents' cyber-victimization. Furthermore, online self-disclosure moderated the indirect relationship between eveningness and cyber-victimization. Specifically, the paths from eveningness to hostile recognition and from hostile recognition to cyber-victimization became strengthened when adolescents experienced high levels of online self-disclosure. The results imply that researchers should pay more attention to remote factors, such as adolescents' circadian preference and their relationship with cyber-victimization, to help them adapt to school requirements and reduce the frequency of victimization.

대학생의 애착 성향과 성공 경험이 대인관계능력에 미치는 영향: 온라인 자기개방 매개효과

대학생의 애착 성향과 성공 경험이 대인관계능력에 미치는 영향: 온라인 자기개방 매개효과

Theoretical conceptualization of online privacy-related decision making - Introducing the tripartite self-disclosure decision model.

Self-disclosures on online social networks have received increased attention in the last two decades. Researchers from different disciplines investigated manifold influencing variables, and studies applied different theories to explain why many users share very sensitive and personal information despite potential risks and negative consequences, whereas others do not. Oftentimes, it is argued that self-disclosure decisions result from a kind of rational "calculus" of risks and benefits. However, such an assumption of rationality can and has been criticized. Nevertheless, fundamental cognitive and affective mechanisms that underlie self-disclosure decision making on social networks are still under-explored. By building upon previous self-disclosure theories and models, dual-and tripartite-system perspectives of decision making, and former empirical findings, we propose a Tripartite Self-Disclosure Decision (TSDD) model that conceptualizes inner processes of online self-disclosure decision making. Central to this model is the proposed interaction of three neural and cognitive/affective systems: a reflective, an impulsive, and an interoceptive system. We further highlight individual and environmental features, which can impact individuals' online self-disclosure decisions by (interactively) influencing the proposed inner decision-making processes targeting the aforementioned three systems. Possible short- and long-term consequences are also discussed, which in turn can affect certain model components in subsequent self-disclosure decision situations. By taking such a neurocognitive perspective, we expand current research and models, which helps to better understand potentially risky information sharing on online social networks and can support attempts to prevent users from incautious self-disclosures.

How COVID-19 stole Christmas: How the pandemic shifted the calculus around social media Self-Disclosures

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media use increased significantly, and news media also reported increased levels of social shaming for behaviors that were now deemed high-risk for spreading or contracting the virus. This study examines how this pandemic-afflicted environment changed what and how individuals disclosed online during the 2020 holiday season. Using data collected at two time periods in December 2020 from Facebook and Instagram users, the data show that social calculus constructs comprise most of the significant predictors for online self-disclosure; evaluation apprehension is also a significant moderator. In a post-hoc analysis with 2019 disclosure data, this study finds that most of the significant predictors of behavior arise from privacy calculus, providing evidence of a shift in the salient predictors of online self-disclosure. The implications of this research to businesses and future research directions are discussed.

The socially poor get richer, the rich get poorer: The effect of online self-disclosure on social connectedness and well-being is conditional on social anxiety and audience size

Self-disclosure taking place in computer-mediated communication (CMC) is generally associated with enhanced well-being because it evokes a greater sense of connectedness. It has been established that the magnitude of the benefits reaped from online self-disclosure is conditional on social anxiety (under the lens of the poor-get-richer vs. rich-get-richer hypotheses) or audience size. What remains to be understood is whether those with low (compared to high) social anxiety experience greater social connectedness and subjective well-being in dyadic and/or masspersonal CMC. A sample of 411 Canadian undergraduate students (aged 17–21 years old) self-reported their anxiety in social situations, online self-disclosure in dyadic and masspersonal communication, current feelings of social connectedness, and subjective well-being. Model 7 of the PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test the indirect effect of online self-disclosure on subjective well-being through feelings of social connectedness, conditioned on values of social anxiety. The model was run separately for dyadic and masspersonal CMC. Online self-disclosure was associated with positive outcomes only for those with high social anxiety. In both contexts, online self-disclosure was associated with enhanced social connectedness and in turn more positive subjective well-being. In contrast, for those with low social anxiety, increases in self-disclosure in masspersonal CMC was associated with decreases in social connectedness and poorer well-being. The indirect effect was not significant for dyadic CMC. Overall, the findings contribute to a more informed understanding of online self-disclosure as a double-edged sword. Theoretical implications for the poor-get-richer and rich-get-richer perspectives are discussed.

Tumblr Facts: Antecedents of Self-Disclosure across Different Social Networking Sites.

Previous research investigating antecedents of online self-disclosure pointed out two perspectives: social compensation and enhancement hypotheses, showing controversial findings. Furthermore, most contributions have focused on social networking sites (SNSs) considered mainstream, like Facebook and Instagram, and such results are often considered universally valid for all SNSs. Tumblr is a less-studied SNS with peculiar features—such as anonymity, higher control over the presentation of personal aspects, supportive communities—that could particularly lead individuals to self-disclose. As prior contributions highlighted that the features and affordances could define how a medium will be used, this paper aims to investigate the antecedents of online self-disclosure on Tumblr and other mainstream SNSs. We run a survey on 559 Tumblr users (aged 13–70; M = 28.86; SD = 12.34). T-test showed that Tumblr users have a higher willingness to self-disclose on Tumblr compared to another SNSs (t = 22.44, p < 0.001). A path analysis model confirmed the predictive role of some psychological variables on self-disclosure on Tumblr but not on mainstream SNSs. In particular, self-disclosure on Tumblr was predicted by self-esteem, negative emotionality, and preference for online social interactions, which was in turn predicted by social anxiety. These findings partially supported both social compensation and enhancement hypotheses, indicating that the phenomenon is more complex than expected.

Influence of personality traits on online self-disclosure: Considering perceived value and degree of authenticity separately as mediator and moderator.

The Chinese have been spending significantly more time on the Internet during post-pandemic time. When people are confined indoors, there is a greater need to construct an identity and socialize online. Personality traits and perceived value of the media are important factors that affect users' online self-disclosure. This study involved the construction of a mediation model and a moderator model to evaluate the influence of personality traits on self-disclosure on social media. Perceived value was regarded as the mediator while the degree of authenticity was regarded as the moderator. Using a quota sampling method, 1,075 Chinese netizens were surveyed in July and August 2021. The results showed that: (1) The depth of self-disclosure of subjects with extroverted personality was significantly higher than that of those with introverted personality, that is, personality traits affect the depth of self-disclosure; (2) perceived value plays a mediating role in online self-disclosure; (3) The degree of authenticity is a significant moderator in the relationship between personality and self-disclosure. In all, the results from this study contribute to our understanding of how personality traits affect perceived value of media and self-disclosure. This study tested the credibility and validity of the proposed model in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in China, and the study is a novel approach in that area of research.

The Online Self-Disclosure of Workplace Mistreatment: A Novel Construct

Anecdotal evidence suggests that employees who are mistreated at work are speaking out about these incidents online, despite the risks to both themselves (e.g., social retaliation, professional consequences) and their organizations (e.g., reputational damage). Throughout this paper, the construct of online self-disclosure is borrowed from the literatures of social, clinical, and media psychology, and applied to the context of speaking out about workplace mistreatment. Online self-disclosure of workplace mistreatment is differentiated from the established constructs of voice and silence, and expectancy theory and cognitive heuristics are integrated to suggest when a target may choose to disclose their experiences of workplace mistreatment online. Finally, propositions are presented to support future investigations into this unique behavioural response. Scholars and practitioners who are invested in eradicating workplace mistreatment are advised to pay attention to online self-disclosures, as these communications signal inadequate workplace voice mechanisms, and thus multiple workplace mistreatment-related problems that need to be addressed.