TY - JOUR
T1 - When do Online Audiences Amplify Benefits of Self-Disclosure? The Role of Shared Experience and Anticipated Interactivity
AU - Kornfield, Rachel
AU - Toma, Catalina L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health [T32 MH 115882]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank Alexandria Cull and Lillie Levin for assistance in carrying out this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, © 2020 Broadcast Education Association.
PY - 2020/5/1
Y1 - 2020/5/1
N2 - As individuals increasingly write about their distressing experiences online, it is important to understand how perceived online audiences influence the effects of self-disclosure. In an experiment, participants wrote about recent breakups for online audiences purportedly varying in 1) whether they shared recent breakup experiences and 2) their ability to leave comments. Participants perceiving audiences with shared experience showed more cognitive processing in their writing and reported increased post-traumatic growth at follow-up than participants perceiving general audiences. Those anticipating comments wrote less about emotions than those who did not. Mechanisms accounting for the benefits of shared experience warrant further investigation.
AB - As individuals increasingly write about their distressing experiences online, it is important to understand how perceived online audiences influence the effects of self-disclosure. In an experiment, participants wrote about recent breakups for online audiences purportedly varying in 1) whether they shared recent breakup experiences and 2) their ability to leave comments. Participants perceiving audiences with shared experience showed more cognitive processing in their writing and reported increased post-traumatic growth at follow-up than participants perceiving general audiences. Those anticipating comments wrote less about emotions than those who did not. Mechanisms accounting for the benefits of shared experience warrant further investigation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084265994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85084265994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08838151.2020.1757366
DO - 10.1080/08838151.2020.1757366
M3 - Article
C2 - 33584002
AN - SCOPUS:85084265994
SN - 0883-8151
VL - 64
SP - 277
EP - 297
JO - Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
JF - Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
IS - 2
ER -