TY - JOUR
T1 - To share or not to share? Adolescents' self-disclosure about peer relationships on Facebook
T2 - An application of the Prototype Willingness Model
AU - Van Gool, Ellen
AU - Van Ouytsel, Joris
AU - Ponnet, Koen
AU - Walrave, Michel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/3
Y1 - 2015/3
N2 - Adolescents are the most fervent users of social network sites, hereby disclosing a lot of personal information. In this study, we used the Prototype Willingness Model to examine whether the sharing of personal information about peer relationships follows a rational and intended pathway, or a more impulsive unconscious decision-making pathway. Data from a sample of 1314 adolescents (M = 16.68, SD = 1.16) were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling, to assess the predictive power of the reasoned pathway (attitude and subjective norm of friends, parents and teachers), and the social-reaction pathway (prototype favorability and similarity). Results showed the unique importance of the reasoned pathway in predicting adolescents' disclosing behavior, with attitude as the strongest predictor. Nevertheless, the social-reaction pathway also significantly contributed to the prediction of the disclosing behavior. In sum, adolescents' self-disclosure on social network sites is mostly the result of a rational, deliberated process, but can be influenced by a more emotional spontaneous response to a given online situation. Therefore, policy makers, practitioners or parents might stress the possible opportunities and risks that disclosing personal information can entail, so adolescents themselves develop a more critical attitude toward sharing their information online.
AB - Adolescents are the most fervent users of social network sites, hereby disclosing a lot of personal information. In this study, we used the Prototype Willingness Model to examine whether the sharing of personal information about peer relationships follows a rational and intended pathway, or a more impulsive unconscious decision-making pathway. Data from a sample of 1314 adolescents (M = 16.68, SD = 1.16) were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling, to assess the predictive power of the reasoned pathway (attitude and subjective norm of friends, parents and teachers), and the social-reaction pathway (prototype favorability and similarity). Results showed the unique importance of the reasoned pathway in predicting adolescents' disclosing behavior, with attitude as the strongest predictor. Nevertheless, the social-reaction pathway also significantly contributed to the prediction of the disclosing behavior. In sum, adolescents' self-disclosure on social network sites is mostly the result of a rational, deliberated process, but can be influenced by a more emotional spontaneous response to a given online situation. Therefore, policy makers, practitioners or parents might stress the possible opportunities and risks that disclosing personal information can entail, so adolescents themselves develop a more critical attitude toward sharing their information online.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Model
KW - Prototype
KW - Self-disclosure
KW - Social network sites
KW - Willingness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84917729535&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84917729535&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.036
DO - 10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84917729535
SN - 0747-5632
VL - 44
SP - 230
EP - 239
JO - Computers in Human Behavior
JF - Computers in Human Behavior
ER -