research-article

Who am I? Representing the self offline and in different online contexts

Authors:

Dana� Stanton Fraser,

Sarah V. Stevenage,

Monica T. Whitty,

Sue Jamison-PowellAuthors Info & Claims

Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 41, Issue C

Pages 146 - 152

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.018

Published: 01 December 2014 Publication History

Abstract

Influence of four offline and online contexts on self-disclosure is examined.Individuals disclose the more information offline than any online context.Type of online space influenced the amount and type of information disclosed.Contextual factors appeared more influential in disclosure than personality factors. The present paper examines the extent to which self-presentation may be affected by the context in which is it undertaken. Individuals were asked to complete the Twenty Statements Test both privately and publicly, but were given an opportunity to withhold any of their personal information before it was made public. Four contexts were examined: an offline context (face-to-face), an un-contextualized general online context, or two specific online contexts (dating or job-seeking). The results suggested that participants were willing to disclose substantially less personal information online than offline. Moreover, disclosure decreased as the online context became more specific, and those in the job-seeking context disclosed the least amount of information. Surprisingly, individual differences in personality did not predict disclosure behavior. Instead, the results are set in the context of audience visibility and social norms, and implications for self-presentation in digital contexts are discussed.

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cover image Computers in Human Behavior

Computers in Human Behavior Volume 41, Issue C

December 2014

554 pages

ISSN:0747-5632

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Copyright © Elsevier Ltd.

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Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.

Netherlands

Publication History

Published: 01 December 2014

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Cited By

Ruppel EGross CStoll APeck BAllen MKim S(2017)Reflecting on ConnectingJournal of Computer-Mediated Communication10.1111/jcc4.1217922:1(18-34)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1111/jcc4.12179
Val�rio FGuimar�es TPrates R(2016)Strategies for Encouraging Sharing in Social Networks for ProfessionalsProceedings of the 15th Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3033701.3033756(1-4)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3033701.3033756
Moncur WOrzech KNeville F(2016)Fraping, social norms and online representations of selfComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.04263:C(125-131)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.042
Wen SLiu T(2016)Reconsidering teachers' habits and experiences of ubiquitous learning to open knowledgeComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.02355:PB(1194-1200)Online publication date: 1-Feb-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.023

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