Wk10 - Self Disclosure

The Weisband and Kiesler research paper on ‘Self Disclosure on Computer Forms’ had a purpose to identify the meta-analysis of data and highlight the implications found. The main hypothesis was based on responses to completing computer forms would show people to be more disclosing than compared with interviews or written forms. The main arguments being ‘(1) that computer interfaces lack social context cues, which in turn causes reduced evaluation anxiety, feelings of safety or invulnerability, and less concern with looking good, and (2) that people lack experience with computers and therefore are not aware of the risks of self-disclosure of personal information to a computer’ (Weisband and Kiesler, 1996, p.4). The paper was dated in April 1996 and reported on statistical analysis literature from 1969 to 1994. Although the research confirms this claim I could not help considering how more recent research might generate different findings.

I was drawn to this paper as the abstract question suggests that people disclose more on a computer form than they do in an interview or paper form and I was unsure this agreed with my own experience. The research is somewhat dated and I wonder how much of the research would stand today where the general users of computers are more techno-savvy. I would like to think that most people in 2010 are more aware of the implication that data protection, free of information and request for information have on disclosing personal and sensitive information electronically. Perhaps in the last decade we have been exposed to more criminal activity online which acts as a deterrent to disclosing too much data unless we have an element of control. The recent scares in the tabloids about giving away too much personal information on social networking sites has lead to people being more conscious about exposing personal data by taking control of their own security settings and limiting the flow of information to family and friends.

Does how little we disclose via computers adversely effect our online identity?

Weisband, S. and Kiesler, S. (1996) 'Self-disclosure on computer forms: meta-analysis and implications', Proceedings of CHI '96 [online] http://portal.acm.org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/citation.cfm?doid=238386.238387 (Accessed February 2008).