TO DISCLOSE OR NOT DISCLOSE: AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION CONTROL AND SOCIAL NETWORK TRANSPARENCY
In a forthcoming paper in Computers and Security, our team examines how the design of social network platforms shapes user decisions to share information.
Self-disclosure on Social Network Sites (SNS) has attracted attention in Information Systems (IS) research. While studies have investigated the effects of individual factors such as privacy concern and trust, on SNS users’ self-disclosure intention, less research has examined how characteristics of the SNS platform shape such intention. This study focuses on one critical characteristic of SNS platforms, SNS transparency, and investigates its impact (direct and indirect via Information Control) on individuals’ self-disclosure intention and the moderating role of privacy disposition. Specifically, we identify three SNS transparency features—Network Transparency, Social Presence, and Monitoring. Drawing from Communication Privacy Management Theory and Social Penetration Theory, we empirically test how these SNS transparency features directly and indirectly via Information Control influence users’ self-disclosure intention. The results of our experiment show that network transparency has adverse effects, while social presence and monitoring have positive effects on information control. Network transparency, social presence, and information control have positive effects on self-disclosure intention. This study extends the literature by enhancing our understanding of how the SNS platform features and individual privacy disposition shape SNS users’ self-disclosure intention.
The paper is co-authored with Wenxi Pu (University of Manitoba), Seth Li (College of William and Mary), Gregory Bott (University of Alabama) and Marie Esposito (an independent researcher).
Recommended Citation: Pu, W., Li, S. Bott, G., Esposito, M., and Thatcher, J.B. (Forthcoming). “To Disclose or Not to Disclose: An Evaluation of the Direct and Indirect Effects of Social Network Transparency.” Computers and Security.