Self presentation and disclosure on the Internet

Abstract

Objectives: This report aimed to investigate whether people in Hong Kong would be prone to expressing their private self through the internet when communicating with others. The study also examined factors that might contribute to this tendency, with a focus on the level of social anxiety and private and public self distance.

Methods: Sixty graduate students were randomly assigned to either the face-to-face interaction mode or the internet interaction mode. Then, they were assessed of their level of social anxiety and self disclosure on the internet. They also completed questionnaires that assess their public and private self.

Results: People in Hong Kong, compared to other sample groups in previous research, disclosed themselves more on the internet. People tended to disclose and use more of their private self during the discussion under the internet interaction condition. There was no significant relationship between social anxiety, private and public self distance, and self disclosure on the internet.

Discussion: The results suggest that people reveal their private self more when they are under ambiguous communication setting. However, the level of social anxiety and private and public self distance are not the main factors that contribute to the relationship found. Further study and research are needed to find out what contributing factors may lead people to disclose more of their private self through the internet.