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Self-Disclosure Valence on Facebook: Effects on Social Attractiveness and User Reactions
Helen Wanqi Zhang1, Alexandros Nikolaidis-Konstas1, Jessica J Good1
1Department of Psychology, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, USA.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking
|October 21, 2022
Summary
Positive social media posts get more likes, but negative posts may encourage private messages. People find positive posters more attractive, influencing online interaction preferences and communication norms.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Media Studies
- Communication Research
Background:
- Social media platforms facilitate extensive online self-disclosure.
- Understanding how the emotional tone of self-disclosure impacts social interactions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of positive versus negative online self-disclosure on users' willingness to interact.
- To examine the mediating role of perceived social attractiveness in this interaction.
Main Methods:
- A between-subjects online experiment with 382 participants.
- Participants viewed fictitious positive or negative Facebook self-disclosure posts.
- Evaluated discloser's social attractiveness and user reactions (likes, private messages).
Main Results:
- Positive self-disclosure led to higher perceived social attractiveness and more public reactions (likes/emojis).
- Negative self-disclosure, despite lower attractiveness, increased willingness for private messaging, suggesting a desire to help.
- Perceived social attractiveness mediated the relationship between post valence and interaction type.
Conclusions:
- Positive self-disclosure garners more public engagement due to higher social attractiveness.
- Negative self-disclosure may elicit supportive private interactions, indicating a different communication norm.
- The valence of online self-disclosure significantly shapes social media interaction patterns and perceived social dynamics.
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