Behavioral contagion on social media: Effects of social norms, design interventions, and critical media literacy on self-disclosure.

Social norms are powerful determinants of human behaviors in offline and online social worlds. While previous research established a correlational link between norm perceptions and self-reported disclosure on social network sites (SNS), questions remain about downstream effects of prevalent behaviors on perceived norms and actual disclosure on SNS. We conducted two preregistered studies using a realistic social media simulation. We further analyzed buffering effects of critical media literacy and privacy nudging. The results demonstrate a disclosure behavior contagion, whereby a critical mass of posts with visual disclosures shifted norm perceptions, which, in turn, affected perceivers' own visual disclosure behavior. Critical media literacy was negatively related and moderated the effect of norms on visual disclosure behavioral intentions. Neither critical media literacy nor privacy nudge affected actual disclosure behaviors, however. These results provide insights into how behaviors may spread on SNS through triggering changes in perceived social norms and subsequent disclosure behaviors.

Towards an integration of individualistic, networked, and institutional approaches to online disclosure and privacy in a networked ecology.

In this paper, we review three different approaches to disclosure and privacy: a) an individualistic approach, which emphasizes an individual's control over information access and flow, b) a networked approach focused on information flow in horizontal relations between people, and c) an institutional approach concerned with public and societal privacy risks from platforms, providers, and governments. These approaches co-exist largely independently of each other in privacy and disclosure literature. However, with overlapping public and private spheres of communication where a presumption of individual agency over personal information is no longer tenable, we argue for the importance of bridging these perspectives towards a more multifaceted view on online disclosure and privacy in a networked ecology.

Mutual friends' social support and self-disclosure in face-to-face and instant messenger communication.

In the present study, we investigated long-term effects of self-disclosure on social support in face-to-face and instant messenger (IM) communication between mutual friends. Using a representative sample of 583 German IM users, we explored whether self-disclosure and positive experiences with regard to social support would dynamically interact in the form of a reinforcing spiral across three measurement occasions. If mutual friends self-disclose today, will they receive more social support 6 months later? In turn, will this affect their willingness to self-disclose another 6 months later? We further analyzed spill-over effects from face-to-face to IM communication and vice versa. We found that self-disclosure predicted social support and vice versa in IM communication, but not in face-to-face communication. In light of these results, the impact of IM communication on how individuals maneuver friendships through the interplay between self-disclosure and social support are discussed.