Ctrl + Alt+Reveal: Influences of Age, Gender, Income, and Mood on Online Self-Disclosure

Abstract

Abstract Self-disclosure (SD), or the process of sharing personal information with others, plays a key role in the formation and maintenance of relationships in online spaces. While previous research has consistently demonstrated the importance of individual demographic, mood and social factors on SD, many studies have focused only on isolated components or younger age groups. This study examined the self-reported self-disclosure behaviours of 493 (286 women, 202 men, 5 non-binary) adults aged 18–91 years ( M age = 43.7, SD = 19.3). The aim of this study was to investigate how sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, income and mood influence SD patterns (measured by disclosure appropriateness, intimacy, quantity and valence) in a diverse adult sample. Age, gender and mood were all seen to influence reported self-disclosure behaviours, whereas income was not. Younger participants reported disclosing more intimate information than older participants did ( p < .001). Men found it more appropriate to disclose personal information publicly, reported disclosing more intimately and at a higher rate than women did (all p < .05). Furthermore, those with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress all reported disclosing more intimately online (all p < .001) than those with lower scores did. These findings provide foundational knowledge of how demographic factors and mood states may shape online disclosure. Future research could examine the impact of other factors, including personality traits and privacy concerns and utilise observational measures of self-disclosure. Furthermore, clear classification of culture and recruitment of diverse individuals should be ensured in future online disclosure studies.