The Facebook phenomenon: online self-disclosure and uncertainty reduction.

Palmieri, Cynthia ; Prestano, Kristen ; Gandley, Rosalie 等

Social networking sites (SNSs) have experienced an unprecedented growth in the last few years. One of the most recognized and trafficked SNSs in the world, Facebook, has over 500 million active users who spend an average of 700 billion minutes per month on the site (Facebook, 2010). Since 2004, Facebook's prime role has been to create connections and help people communicate more efficiently by building virtual communities that connect friends, family, and coworkers (DeGroot, 2008). Since its takeoff, Facebook has become a prime vehicle for communication among college students. The site's main features, a Home page and Profile, allow individuals to disclose a great deal of personal information, as well as see information of friends and networks (Facebook, 2010), thus facilitating direct access of personal disclosure.

Facebook has begun to transform the way in which individuals perceive relationship development and interpersonal reactions, namely through self-disclosure. A self-disclosure is any message or interaction between individuals that communicates information about oneself to others (Wheeless & Grotz, 1976). It thus plays a central role in communication and relationship development by allowing individuals to make themselves known to others (Williams, 2008). Recent communication research on Facebook highlights the distinct form of self-disclosure on the social networking site, since its users tend not only to disclose personal information, their likes and interests, but also pictures of themselves and their friends on a more public level (DeGroot, 2008; Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007; Park, Jin & Jin, 2009; Sheldon, 2009; Taylor & Stern, 2007; Williams, 2008). This research creates a substantial outlet for exploration in regard to student's use of Facebook as a tool for uncertainty reduction management.

Uncertainty reduction is the exchange of information between individuals that allows one to form impressions of others and make sense of social situations (Sheldon, 2010). The process of uncertainty reduction thus enables individuals to predict another individual's actions, attitudes and behaviors, which can ease anxiety in initial social encounters (Berger & Calabrese, 1975).

Although the increasing popularity of Facebook has inspired a great deal of communication research on how SNSs influence American college students (DeGroot, 2008; Park et al., 2009; Sheldon, 2009; Taylor & Stern, 2007; Williams, 2008), there is still controversy over how self-disclosure impacts uncertainty reduction. Prior research focuses mainly on the ways in which individuals use Facebook to present their identities and self-disclosure information, as well as Facebook's effect on face-to-face communication (Ellison et al., 2007). Self-disclosure has been linked with social information processing theory, particularly on ways in which online Facebook interactions help to create more effective relationships (Sheldon, 2010; Taylor & Stern, 2007; Williams, 2008). Most of existing research also relies on social penetration theory, maintaining that Facebook's communicative functions facilitate the breadth and depth of self-disclosure (Taylor & Stern, 2007; Williams, 2008). Despite these academic endeavors, little research has been done to examine the effects of self-disclosure on Facebook on uncertainty reduction (Borae, Namkee & Seung-A, 2009; DeGroot, 2008; Sheldon, 2009; Taylor & Stern, 2007).

Investigation in this arena is thus vital in upcoming years, due primarily to prevalent usage of the Facebook medium alone. Facebook ranks higher than any other form of communication technology, including phone and email, and has become the number one choice of communication for university students (Taylor & Stern, 2007). In fact, 80% of college students whose school has a network utilize Facebook (Sheldon, 2010). The primary purpose of this study, therefore, is to investigate the effects of self-disclosure on Facebook on perceived uncertainty reduction.

Self-Disclosure on Facebook

Self-disclosure is the process of revealing personal information about one's self through verbal communication (Sheldon, 2009). Traditional theories of self-disclosure pertain to face-to-face communication encounters, which suggest that self-disclosure allows others to know more about him or herself (Sheldon, 2010). According to Altman and Taylor (1973), there are two characteristics of self-disclosure, breadth and depth. Breadth pertains to the amount of information and the amount of topics of self-disclosure, while depth refers to intimacy of self-disclosure (Altman & Taylor 1973; Sheldon, 2009).

Previous research has indicated that online self-disclosure develops in ways similar to what is observed in face-to-face communication (Walther, 1994; Walther & Burgeon, 1992; Yum & Hara, 2006). However, technological advances have greatly influenced computer-mediated communication (CMC) and researchers often support the idea that relationships can be enhanced by its characteristics. Within the computer-mediated environment, breadth and depth of self-disclosure play an especially important role due to limited non-verbal and contextual cues (Walther, 1992, 1996). Tidwell and Walther (2002) found that individuals exhibit higher proportions of self-disclosures than face-to-face interactions. The reduced nonverbal cues of CMC allow senders of messages opportunities for optimal self-presentation and disclosure that may influence perceived attraction in interpersonal relationships (Levine, 2000; Walther, 1996). Individuals, therefore, use social networking site, enhanced computer-mediated environments, to build and develop interpersonal relationships through their self-disclosures.

In the computer-mediated environment of social networking sites such as Facebook it can be assumed that the initial information a person chooses to share will motivate others to either enter or not enter into a 'friendship.' Christofides, Muise, and Desmarais (2009) found that an overwhelming majority of Facebook users post extremely personal information including their birthday, e-mail address, relationship status, and school programs. Profiles also contain self-descriptions as well as pictures and videos. Antheunis, Valkenburg, and Peter (2000) found that various means of self-disclosure allow individuals to view others in an unobtrusive manner, making information gathering less effortful and consequently less stressful.

Uncertainty Reduction

The main premise of Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) is that individuals use information seeking strategies to reduce uncertainties about a target individual and predict his/her attitudes and behaviors in initial encounters. Traditional research involving uncertainty reduction theory resides primarily in face-to-face communication, where individuals engage in verbal and novnverbal communication to gain knowledge, with expectations of future interactions (Williams, 2008). Thus, during the process of information gathering individuals seeking information create mental models, which help them make sense of other peoples' intentions, motivations, and behaviors (Antheunis et al., 2000; Berger & Calabrese, 1975).

The basic goal of interpersonal relationships is to reduce uncertainty of others (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). Substantial research has been done in regard to relationships in computer-mediated contexts (Antheunis et al., 2000; Sheldon, 2010; Sheldon, 2009; Walther & Tidwell, 1995; Williams, 2008). Although online communication can lack characteristics of traditional face-to-face encounters, such as physical proximity and personal appearance, people in online arenas are still able to reduce uncertainty about individuals they encounter over the web (Antheunis et al., 2000; Sheldon, 2009). Park et al. (2009) found that individuals apply similar uncertainty reduction strategies in face-to-face interactions as they do in computer-mediated communication (CMC). CMC cues intended to replace nonverbal cues associated with traditional face-to-face encounters include emoticons, like smiley faces, and textual cues, which are frequently used through email and instant messenger (Walther & Tidwell, 1995). In order to reduce uncertainty, Walther (1992) also suggested that in social situations lacking nonverbal cues, communicators adapt their relationship behaviors and linguistic skills to those available through a specific medium (Walther & Tidwell, 1995).

Social networking sites, like Facebook, provide a particularly enhanced and cue rich computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments (Sheldon, 2009; Williams, 2008). Antheunis et al. (2000) found various means of self-disclosure on Facebook, through pictures, relationship status, comments on walls, etc. In providing such vast amounts of personal information, Facebook has thus been found to have important consequences on uncertainty reduction strategies used by individuals (Antheunis et al., 2000). According to uncertainty reduction theory, information seeking eases fears or anxieties of initial interactions with individuals in social environments, where interactants often experience lack of predictability and uncertainty about a new relational partner (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Williams, 2008). In respect to Facebook, if users perceive individuals as being similar in attitude and socially attractive this may lead to greater predictability and therefore reduce uncertainty (Craig, Igiel, Wright, Cunningham, & Ploeger, 2007).

Earlier CMC and online relationship research also demonstrate that people use interactive strategies for uncertainty reduction to reduce levels of anxiety and form impressions about other individuals, primarily through means of self-disclosure (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Studies examining the relationship between self-disclosure and uncertainty reduction in traditional face-to-face encounters, indicate that perceptions of self-disclosure ease uncertainty (Antheunis et al., 2009; Ellison et al., 2007; Sheldon, 2009). Additionally, Tidwell and Walther (2002) and Walther and Burgoon (1992) found that self-disclosure between online partners in initial interactions leads to greater perceived interpersonal attractions and liking, also consistent with Uncertainty Reduction Theory.

This study attempts to discover whether self-disclosure on Facebook will affect perceived uncertainty reduction. As uncertainty reduction theory suggests that, increased patterns of self-disclosure, as well as the phase of encounter and extent of the partners' relationship, affect the predictability of individual behaviors and feelings in traditional face-to-face encounters (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Sheldon, 2009). Thus, the level of uncertainty is likely to be higher in social interactions at the entry phase, as opposed to established relationships where frequent communication and predictability interactions occur (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). Similarly, Parks and Adelman (1983) found that, in face-to-face interactions, uncertainty decreases as partners increase communication with social networks, like friends and family, who self-disclose with greater breadth and depth. It seems reasonable to assume that online self-disclosure on Facebook will also affect uncertainty reduction. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H: The amount of breadth and depth of self-disclosure on Facebook will affect perceived uncertainty reduction.

Method

Participants

A total of 151 undergraduate students (male = 59, female = 91) from a private, Northeastern university participated in the study. Participants were recruited from a variety of communication and business courses. Participants ranged between the ages of 18 and 24, with the average age of 20.35 years. The sample included 23 freshmen (15.2%), 16 sophomores (10.6%), 19 juniors (12.6%), and 92 seniors (60.9%). The participants consisted of 135 Caucasian, 6 Black, 6 Asian, 4 Hispanic, and one participant who identified him/herself as other. The participation was voluntary, anonymous, and confidential.

Designs and Materials

An experimental research design was conducted to assess the breadth and depth of college students' self-disclosure on Facebook. Consistent with Mazer, Murphy, and Simonds' (2007) design of teacher self disclosure on Facebook, three fictitious Facebook pages were developed to measure the extent of self-disclosure, under the spectrum of high, moderate, and low self-disclosure (Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2007).

The individual featured on the Facebook website was a 21-year-old undergraduate female named Katie Smith. The low self-disclosure page displayed only one profile picture and information was limited to name (first and last), sex, birth date, email, university and expected graduation year. The moderate self-disclosure page featured a Facebook page with greater amounts of personal information including brief disclosure about her interests and hobbies, a viewable list of friends, and several photos in which "Katie" was depicted in conservative social settings. Posted on her wall was one status update saying, "Finally got a Facebook!" For the high self-disclosure page, however, "Katie's" profile contained a variety of pictures representing multiple social situations. "Katie" was tagged in 15 photos, had a photo album consisting of 18 photos, and 3 profile pictures. This profile was open, which allowed participants to view comments and personal status updates on the fictitious "wall," as well as "Katie's basic info, bio, favorite quotations, and likes and interests. Status updates included statements like, "Too much studying... I need the weekend!" and "Soo much work to do!!!" and wall posts made by other "friends" included, "Ahhh it's about time!! Now start answering my texts!" and "I better see you this weekend... and I want to hear about your weekend!!!"

Measures

Uncertainty reduction was operationalized with the Uncertainty Reduction Measure developed by Clatterbuck (1979) and Kellermann and Reynolds (1990). The Likert-type scale asked participants to respond to ten questions in relation to uncertainty (5 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree). Questions were reworded from questions like, "How confident are you of your general ability to predict how he/she will behave?" to statements like, "I feel confident in my ability to predict how this person will behave." The scale was found to have good reliability and the Cronbach's alpha was.87 in this study.

Procedures

Students in various communication and business courses were instructed to bring their laptop to class on a designated day. After signing a consent form, the students were instructed to log onto their Facebook accounts. Next, they were randomly assigned to view one of the three Facebook pages: low, moderate, or high self-disclosure. After viewing a Facebook profile, they were asked to indicate which page they viewed (A, B, or C) and complete the questionnaire measuring their perceived uncertainty reduction. All participants were then asked to fill out the same questionnaire regardless of the Facebook page to which they are randomly assigned. The experiment took approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Results

The hypothesis proposed that the amount of breadth and depth of self-disclosure on Facebook will affect perceived uncertainty reduction. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to test the hypothesis. The independent variable was self-disclosure on Facebook, which had high, moderate, and low categories, and the dependent variable was perceived uncertainty reduction. The results indicate that the difference was significant, F (2, 142) = 95.158,p <.001.

Post-hoc Tukey comparisons of the three levels of self-disclosure indicated that the low self-disclosure (M = 1.92, SD =.46) produced significantly lower uncertainty reduction than the moderate self-disclosure (M = 2.69, SD =.44). High self-disclosure (M = 3.52, SD =.70) generated a significantly higher uncertainty reduction than moderate self-disclosure.

Discussion

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-disclosure on Facebook on perceived uncertainty reduction. The findings from one-way ANOVA reveal the levels of self-disclosure on an individual's Facebook Page affect perceived uncertainty about that individual. More self-disclosure on Facebook leads to less uncertainty. Uncertainty was reduced with more self-disclosure by increasing perceived abilities to predict attitudes and behaviors of others.

In line with our expectations, this study indicates that low self-disclosure on Facebook produces the low perceived uncertainty reduction, the moderate self-disclosure leads to moderate perceived uncertainty reduction, and high self-disclosure generates high perceived uncertainty reduction. Although little research has been conducted in regard to self-disclosure on Facebook and its effects on perceived uncertainty reduction (Borae, Namke & Seung-A, 2009; DeGroot, 2008; Sheldon, 2009; Taylor & Stern, 2007), the finding is consistent with basic premise of uncertainty reduction theory in face-to-face interactions. The findings support previous research contending that Facebook has important consequences on uncertainty reduction strategies used by individuals (Antheunis et al., 2000). Participants who observed the low self-disclosure Facebook profile were least likely to predict characteristics of likeability, trust, friendliness, or interest of others.

High self-disclosure profiles on Facebook divulge more personal information and create a cue rich environment, resulting in reduced levels of uncertainty. Consistent with prior research which suggests that communicators adapt their relationship behaviors and linguistic skills to social situations that lack nonverbal cues to reduce uncertainty (Walther,1992), the findings indicate that high self-disclosure on Facebook compensate for the lack of nonverbal cues normally present in face-to-face encounters, allowing individuals to form perceptions and thus reduce uncertainty. Although many nonverbal cues are absent on Facebook, their friends' behaviors over the medium allow users to determine high predictability. In providing vast amounts of personal information through pictures, interests, and comments on walls, etc., participants who view high self-disclosure profile are confident in predicting the target individual's attitudes, values, and interests. Because individuals are able to receive great amounts of information unobtrusively, information gathering is less effortful and consequently less stressful thus exhibiting reduced levels of uncertainty.

This study is not without limitations. Three limitations are therefore worth noting. The first limitation concerns the use of the convenience sample from a private university in the Northeast, where the students are predominantly from middle or upper-middle class. In this study, Caucasians accounted for 89.4% percent of the sample size, whereas people of other ethnicities were only 10.6% percent. Given the homogeneous make-up of the school and exceptionally small number of minorities in the sample, the findings may correspond more fluidly with perceptions of Caucasians than general populations in regard to uncertainty reduction. Findings might be different if conducted at universities with a highly diverse population. Thus, it is important to test levels of Facebook self-disclosure on uncertainty reduction in other cultures to see if results with similar veracity exist. Given the unequal ratio between Caucasian and racial-ethnic minority groups, future research should consider recruiting more minority students to see whether perceptions of uncertainty reduction differ among diverse populations.

The second limitation is that this study does not directly test the influence of Facebook self-disclosure on uncertainty reduction in regard to gender. The study finds that levels of self-disclosure on Facebook profiles affect people's perceptions of uncertainty reduction, but it does not account for gender differences. More studies, particularly experiments, need to be conducted to establish if there is a direct causal relationship between perceptions of uncertainty reduction and gender.

The third limitation involves the approach of the experimental design utilized in this study. The use of hypothetical Facebook page scenarios can minimize the impacts of lurking variables, however, the conditions might not reflect the complicated nature of uncertainty reduction because it is not in a naturalistic environment. Examining real-life Facebook encounters may provide us with more valid and accurate results regarding perceptions of uncertainty reduction. The three scenarios, low, moderate, high, were constructed to represent actual levels of self-disclosure, but the simplified scenarios might not adequately capture the complicated nature of perceptions and computer-mediated communication behaviors. Given the experimental nature of this study, the results should be interpreted with caution.

The limitations of the study provide directions for future research. The results imply potential outlets for future research in regard to likability and social attraction. Reduced levels of uncertainty when viewing Facebook profiles may ultimately lead to positive feelings of likeability, friendliness and trust, thus resulting in a greater likelihood of initiating a friendship over this medium. Future research could benefit from investigation along these dimensions.

Facebook ranks higher than any other form of computer-mediated technology and has become the number one choice of communication for university students (Taylor & Stern, 2010). Given the prevalent usage of the Facebook medium alone, the social implications of this study should be acknowledged with as much pertinence as the growing trend. This study contributes to existent literature by extending uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) from traditional face-to-face interactions to computer-mediated communication module. It provides empirical evidence that online self-disclosure on Facebook reduces levels of uncertainty, but more empirical studies are needed to establish their direct causal relationship.

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Cynthia Palmieri, Kristen Prestano, Rosalie Gandley, Emily Overton, Qin Zhang

Fairfield University

Correspondence to:

Qin Zhang

Associate Professor

Department of Communication

Fairfield University

Fairfield CT 06824

Email: [email protected]