Privacy and Self-Disclosure Online

• Start date: 01 March 2005
• End date: 28 February 2007

This project investigates the interaction between privacy concerns and self-disclosure to world-wide web sites. That people disclose more about themselves during computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a well established phenomenon. However, explanations of this person-to-person disclosure do not explain disclosure to web sites particularly well, and few attempts have been made to link web-based disclosure to work on privacy. This project differentiates and tests the unique and interactive effects of disclosure and privacy concerns within a micro-environment of participation in opinion-giving. This provides a high level of control over identifiability, the nature of the audience, strategic imperatives for users, power and status differentials and the design of web services. A series of experimental studies, alongside a mock website study, were used to identify the boundaries of disclosure and privacy concerns online. The project also provides insights for engaging people within an e-society that will increasingly demand personal information, while also acknowledging their privacy concerns. The project will also illuminate our understanding of high self-disclosure online, and develop new insights into the processes by which people suspend privacy concerns to disclose personal information. Finally, the project provides an insight into ways to reduce disclosure through the use of design and audience manipulations.