Perceived Costs versus Actual Benefits of Demographic Self-Disclosure in Online Support Groups

Abstract

Millions of U.S. adults join online support groups to attain health goals, but the social ties they form are often too weak to provide the support they need. What impedes the strengthening of ties in such groups? We explore the role of demographic differences in causing the impediment and demographic self-disclosure in removing it. Using a field study of online quit-smoking groups complemented by three laboratory experiments, we find that members tend to hide demographic differences, concerned about poor social integration that will weaken their ties. However, the self-disclosures of demographic differences that naturally occur during group member discussions actually strengthen their ties, which in turn facilitates attainment of members' health goals. In other words, social ties in online groups are weak not because members are demographically different, but because they are reluctant to self-disclose their differences. If they do self-disclose, this breeds interpersonal connection, trumping any demographic differences among them. Data from both laboratory and field about two types of demographic difference-dyad-level dissimilarity and group-level minority statusprovide convergent support for our findings.

Consumer research during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

“…Our findings highlighted three other behaviors related to COVID-19. The first behavior was limited openness behavior (Pechmann et al , 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hate crimes targeting specific ethnic groups increased significantly (Gover et al , 2020).…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hate crimes targeting specific ethnic groups increased significantly (Gover et al , 2020). Consequently, minority groups felt uncomfortable revealing their status and identity and limiting their public behavior (Pechmann et al , 2021). The second behavior was social connectedness and do-it-yourself (DIY) (Kirk and Rifkin, 2020).…”

“…The second line of research, however, concentrates on exploring the different antecedents that affect such behaviors. This includes psychological factors (Wang et al , 2016; Kemp et al , 2021), cognitive factors (Herjanto et al , 2021; Septianto and Chiew, 2021), demographic factors (Karpen and Conduit, 2020; Peluso et al , 2021) and emotional factors (Eger et al , 2021; Pechmann et al , 2021). Overall, it is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has garnered the attention of scholars.…”

Reconsidering prosocial behavior as intersocial: A literature review and a new perspective

“…In this respect, Pechmann et al (2021) investigated the role support groups play in facilitating goals regarding why consumers join those groups. In the context of online communities, where self‐disclosures may be a way to build trust in the community, the authors consider how self‐disclosures regarding differences between group members are made.…”

“…Whereas Pechmann et al (2021) reported positive interpersonal outcomes in online communities, Pundak et al (2021) found that consumers can also engage in public shaming of wrongdoers. This observation raises interesting questions such as whether actions that benefit more people by discouraging bad behavior but hurt an individual are prosocial, when are these actions prosocial, and whether such actions can be considered prosocial when other actions could also have discouraged bad behaviors.…”