An Analysis of the Motivations Behind Self-Disclosure on Social Networking Sites

This study was designed to investigate individual’s motivations of self-disclosure through both Snapchat and Twitter. The participants of the study were students at the College of Wooster. Using an online survey, the researcher collected data from 83 participants. It was revealed that Snapchat was the most used social networking site among the participants. It was concluded that both Snapchat and Twitter users utilized these social networking sites to help maintain different relationships/friendships mainly established in college. However neither Snapchat nor Twitter were used necessarily to foster the development of different relationships/friendships. Additionally, neither Snapchat nor Twitter users were concerned about the privacy of personal information on their social media profiles. It was revealed that participants’ sense of loneliness did not necessarily encourage participants to self-disclose online. Finally, whether participants identified as an introvert or an extrovert also did not in essences promote users to self-disclose personal information online