Online Social Networks: Why We Disclose

TLDR

Massive self‑disclosure on platforms like Facebook has drawn industry and policy attention, yet little is known about the motivations behind users’ personal information sharing. The study aims to develop and empirically test a structural equation model of self‑disclosure by integrating focus‑group insights into a privacy‑calculus framework with 259 participants. The authors constructed a structural equation model of self‑disclosure based on focus‑group data and a privacy‑calculus framework, tested with 259 subjects. Users disclose mainly for relationship convenience and platform enjoyment, but privacy risks hinder disclosure; trust in the provider and control options mitigate risk, leading the authors to propose provider recommendations.

Abstract

On online social networks such as Facebook, massive self-disclosure by users has attracted the attention of Industry players and policymakers worldwide. Despite the Impressive scope of this phenomenon, very little Is understood about what motivates users to disclose personal Information. Integrating focus group results Into a theoretical privacy calculus framework, we develop and empirically test a Structural Equation Model of self-disclosure with 259 subjects. We find that users are primarily motivated to disclose Information because of the convenience of maintaining and developing relationships and platform enjoyment. Countervailing these benefits, privacy risks represent a critical barrier to information disclosure. However, users’ perception of risk can be mitigated by their trust in the network provider and availability of control options. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for network providers.