This document discusses research on disclosure and identity in social media. It summarizes five sources that examine how online disclosure affects impression formation, relationships and community, the effect of identity on social media use, what constitutes highly personal information, and examinations of social identity. The document also outlines a proposed study on how social media disclosure affects internal identity and self-worth, with a questionnaire and focus groups examining topics like privacy, motivation for disclosure, and effects on self-esteem. Results suggest disclosure levels and truthfulness impact relationships and self-esteem, with more real disclosure correlating to greater online emotional involvement and connection.

1. Disclosure and Identity in
Social Media
Alexia Molion
Meghan Schneider
Ashley Winters

3. Main Sources
Effects of Online Christian Self Disclosure on Impression Formation
-P. S. Bobkowski & S. Kalyanaraman
Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society
-A. Brown
The Effect of Identity on the Use of Social and Personal Media:
Marginalization, Motivation, and the Internet
-M. Hamilton
What Is Highly Personal Information and How Is It Related to Self-
Disclosure Decision-Making?
-A. Mathews, V.J. Derlega & J. Morrow
An Examination of Social Identities
-J. J. Wong

4. Effects of Online Christian Self Disclosure on Impression
Formation
-P. S. Bobkowski & S. Kalyanaraman
-Many people choose not to disclose
certain information that is essential to
their identity because they feel it
allows viewers to create a stereotype
instead of giving insight into the profile
owner’s true identity.

5. Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society
-A. Brown
Wang Hun: Chinese online role-play
marriages
-These “fake” marriages have caused many
legally married couples to get divorced,
even though the online couples never
experience face to face interaction
-Affects our hypothesis by supporting that
online disclosure is separate from face to
face disclosure, and adds that it may even
be more powerful and influential

6. The Effect of Identity on the Use of Social and Personal Media:
Marginalization, Motivation, and the Internet
-M. Hamilton
-Motivation and access to the media affects the
amount and reliability of the disclosure given
online.
Such things that are dependent on motivation and
access are:
-respondent age
-sex
-ethnicity
-self-worth
-socio-economic status

7. What Is Highly Personal Information and How Is It Related to
Self-Disclosure Decision-Making?
-A. Mathews, V.J. Derlega & J. Morrow
Disclosure: revealing one’s self or essence to
at least one other person
Descriptive Disclosure: focusing on private
facts
Evaluative Disclosure: focusing on personal
feelings and /or opinions
Personal Self-Disclosure: about oneself
Relational Self-Disclosure: about one’s
relationship with another person or
interactions with other people

8. An Examination of Social Identities
-J. J. Wong
“Not only do individuals identify or describe
themselves in particular ways, such self–
descriptions must be recognized by others”
-Contributes to our hypothesis by saying that it isn’t
the amount of disclosure that affects identity, it’s
the factuality and truthfulness of it

9. Beginning Interests
1. How can you figure out your identity through a
social media situation?
2. How can you use self-disclosure in social media
without telling too much about your thoughts and
feelings?
3. What has the uprising of disclosure through
social media done to relationships?
4. Is it possible to maintain privacy and limit self
disclosure while creating a relationship through
social media?

10. Hypothesis/ Final Question
Disclosure within social media sites changes
who we are and the identity we create is
intertwined with the identity we portray in
face to face interactions.
Does what we disclose through social media
affect the identity and self-worth we posses
internally?

11. Sample/ Methodology
Questionnaire
-40 Queens University of Charlotte
undergraduate students
Focus Groups
-3 groups of 5 Queens University of
Charlotte undergraduate students
All participants were chosen at random so
gender/ race/ religion/ etc were not a
factor. The study was meant to be
diverse and unspecific.

12. Questionnaires
-Use of social media (amount, motivation,
time)
-Importance of social media
-Disclosure through social media (amount,
motivation, type, truth)
-Self-esteem effected by social media
(relationships, changes in confidence)
-Social media in the work force (does the
idea of a future employer viewing your
profile change any of the above factors)

13. Focus Groups
-Used to elaborate on questions not
easily asked/ answered on a
questionnaire

14. Results
-the privacy settings effect how much/ what
participants disclose
Friends: at minimum acquaintances
-sometimes use social media as a way to impress
others; “create” the way they want to be seen
-not enough to pressure them to make drastic
changes

15. "You disclose a lot of information about your
personal life"
18
16
14
12
Out of 40 10
participants
8
6
4
2
0
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

16. "People who use media have higher self
esteem"
Agrees- 30%
Undecided- 35%
Disagrees- 35%

17. "The profile you create accurately depicts
who you feel you are“
(the information can be proved truthful)
25
20
15
Out of 40
participants
10
5
0
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

18. Important Correlations
-People who said that they showed true facts on their
profiles were more likely to agree that they have a
higher self esteem through social media
-People who said they disclosed untrue information
were more likely to agree that their relationships
suffered from using social media
-People are hesitant to admit that their self esteem is
affected by amount of interaction on social media
sites, but through our research it has proved true

19. Conclusion
In most cases, people who disclose more information
are more likely to be affected personally by
networking than those who disclose less. Those
who share a real identity on their profiles become
more emotionally involved and connected to the
site.

20. Social media sites don’t just affect users
personally….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_RU5OCYYYw

21. References
Bobkowski, P. S., & Kalyanaraman, S. (2010). Effects of Online Christian Self-Disclosure on
Impression Formation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 49(3), 456-476.
doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01522.x
Brown, A. (2011). Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society. Futurist,
45(2), 29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Hamilton, M. (2009). The Effect of Identity on the Use of Social and Personal Media:
Marginalization, Motivation, and the Internet. Conference Papers -- International
Communication Association, 1-40.
Mathews, A., Derlega, V. J., & Morrow, J. (2006). What Is Highly Personal Information and
How Is It Related to Self-Disclosure Decision-Making? The Perspective of College Students.
Communication Research Reports, 23(2), 85-92. doi:10.1080/08824090600668915
Wong, J. J. (2002). What’s in a Name? An Examination of Social Identities. Journal for the
Theory of Social Behaviour, 32(4), 451-463. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.