Self-Disclosure In Online And Face-To-Face Communication

Introduction

Self-disclosure is no doubt exceptionally substantial to one’s self. Perhaps, that is why expressing oneself to others is so prevalent among people whether it is by Face-to-Face Interactions (FTF) or Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), where the major difference they share is the absence of face-to-face evaluated feedback in computer-mediated self-disclosure. According to Masaviru (2016), “Self-disclosure is the act of revealing details about ourselves to others. The topics of disclosure range from superficial details to very private, sensitive and personal information.”

Disclosing self serves various purposes and benefits. It leads to the development of social relations (DeLamater, Myers & Collet, 2018 book) as those low in self-disclosure may face higher levels of loneliness and isolation (Mahon, 1982), Additionally, shy individuals, who generally feel embarrassed in face-to-face disclosures, can feel greater comfort in social interactions and expand their social networks by online self-disclosure (Stritzke, Nguyen & Durkin, 2004). Considering the significance of disclosing self has on one’s emotional well-being, this study aims to identify and investigate the effects channels of communication has on the self-disclosure of Hong Kong young adults.

Research Question

Do Hong Kong young adults self-disclose more online than in face-to-face interactions? If so, why?

Literature Review

With the advancement of technology, Computer-Meditated Communication (CMC) has amplified, accelerating the development of online social interactions simultaneously. The computer-mediated self-revelation include personal blogs, dating Websites and social network forums (Joinson & Paine, 2007), which allows people to share their personal information, experiences, thoughts and feelings with strangers anonymously. According to the Digital 2019 report, it was revealed that the average amount of time spent by Internet users was six hours (Kemp, 2019).

In response, there has been a growing hypothesis that self-disclosure occurs more often and with higher levels of intimacy online when compared to Face-to-Face communication (FTF). For instance, Bruss and Hill (2010) discovered that the participants in the online communication group reported higher levels of personal self-disclosure than those in the face-to-face group after engaging 58 college students in a conversation either face-to-face or using instant-messaging system. These results were in line with Snow (2007), who reported interactions with less non-verbal cues resulted in greater intimacy. A common explanation would be the online disinhibition effect that implies “how people say and do things in cyberspace that they wouldn’t ordinary say and do in the face to face world. They loosen up, feel less restrained, and express themselves more openly” (Suler, 2004, p.321). However, although both researches adopted similar procedures by randomly assigning college students into online and face-to-face conditions to interact, the topics of conversation in Snow’s research were solely limited to students’ attitudes about summer courses, while more questions about students’ personal lives were included in Buss and Hill’s research. Regardless, the question must be raised: Do people prefer self-disclosing more online than in face-to-face communication given the online disinhibition effect?

Conversely, Mallen, Day and Green (2017) theorized that participants in face-to-face condition reported greater levels of satisfaction, closeness and self-disclosure, despite utilizing similar approach as Bruss and Hill. They believed it was presumably because participants in the online condition faced difficulties decoding the message behind the words on the devices due to the lack of non-verbal cues or that they felt freer to disagree with one another since they did not have to face their partners directly.

Considering the privacy risks imposed by sharing personal details online, Seung and Wong (2012) found that the relationship between privacy risk online and self-disclosure was not as significant as expected after analyzing the questionnaires completed by 405 Hong Kong universities Facebook users as they believed “they had nothing to hide” and it was convenient. Instead, Seung and Wong (2012) found that social influence was a substantial impact influencing online self-disclosure since they detected that the primary consideration among users were the “effects” of sharing such as peer relationships, when disclosing personal feelings and information online.

Aims and Objectives

Online and face-to-face self-disclosure has been extensively studied. However, inadequate research has been done regarding the popular approach to self-disclose. Therefore, this study aims to identify and investigate differences between online and face-to-face self-disclosure and the effects they have on Hong Kong young adults, as it will not only lead to a better understanding about the more preferred channel to self-disclose, but also it will be interesting to explore why such discrepancies exist.