Comparing Online and Offline Self-Disclosure: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Disclosure of personal information is believed to be more frequent in online compared to offline communication. However, this assumption is both theoretically and empirically contested. This systematic review examined existing research comparing online and offline self-disclosure to ascertain the evidence for current theories of online communication. Studies that compared online and offline disclosures in dyadic interactions were included for review. Contrary to expectations, disclosure was not consistently found to be greater in online contexts. Factors such as the relationship between the communicators, the specific mode of communication, and the context of the interaction appear to moderate the degree of disclosure. In relation to the theories of online communication, there is support for each theory. It is argued that the overlapping predictions of each theory and the current state of empirical research highlights a need for an overarching theory of communication that can account for disclosure in both online and offline interactions.

Affect and Social Processes in Online Communication--Experiments with an Affective Dialog System

“…Self-disclosure was defined as "the voluntary and verbal communication of personal information" [50], and measured on two dimensions: frequency and depth. Frequency referred to the number of utterances containing disclosure of personal information, normalized with the number of utterances emitted by the user.…”

Health Professionals’ Attitudes towards Electronic Psychosocial Assessments in Youth Mental Healthcare

“…These developments were supported by research into the "online disinhibition effect", which suggests that people have higher rates of self-disclosure in the anonymous online realm [21]. However, a recent systematic review indicates that the online modality only results in a greater frequency of disclosure, not a greater depth of disclosure [15]. Furthermore, this move towards providing completely online mental health services ignores young people's continuing preference to ultimately seek help in a face-to-face format [22].…”

“…They also allow young people to disclose what is happening for them without the fear of judgment or becoming overwhelmed with emotions [13]. While these benefits would likely be seen in any type of self-administered format, psychosocial assessments conducted using information communication technologies (ICT) appear to have better user satisfaction with young people [14] and result in a higher frequency of disclosure than those administered via a pen and paper format [15].…”

With or without you: does partner satisfaction and partner-directed violence influence the presence of a partner on women’s Facebook cover profile photographs?

“…Self-presentation through cover profile photographs has not as yet been considered within the context of partner-directed violence. Since females on SNSs are more focused on their existing network of friends rather than on anonymous virtual friends (Tufekci, 2008), with an attempt to present themselves on SNSs authentically (Haferkamp, & Krämer, 2010;Stern & Taylor, 2007) and are more open and expressive than in offline selfpresentations (Foon Hew, 2011;Mesch & Beker, 2010; see also Nguyen, Bin, & Campbell, 2012 for a critical review), we suggest that the detection of male-directed violence can be extended to the cover profile photograph (CPP).…”