Social Support and Self-Disclosure in Face-to-Face and Instant Messenger Communication

• In Event: Online Interactions and Social Support

Abstract

The present study investigates long-term effects of self-disclosure on social support, both in face-to-face and instant messenger communication. We asked whether self-disclosure to a friend would influence the amount of social support received 6 months later and whether, in turn, it would influence self-disclosure another 6 months later. We further analyzed spill-over effects from face-to-face to messenger communication and vice versa. Results from a longitudinal study with three measuring points (6 months interval) based on a representative sample of 576 German instant messenger users found effects of self-disclosure on social support in instant messenger, but not in face-to-face communication. Further, we found a spill-over effect: The social support mutual friends receive in messenger communication influences how they disclose in face-to-face encounters 6 months later. In light of these results, the impact of instant messenger communication on how individuals maneuver friendships through the interplay of self-disclosure and social support are discussed.

Authors

• Philipp K. Masur, U of Hohenheim

• Sabine Trepte, U of Hohenheim

• Michael Scharkow, Zeppelin U