10-year Systematic Literature Review of Social Penetration in Online Communication

Altman and Taylor's (1973) Social Penetration Theory (SPT) suggests that in any relationship or communication pathway, each participant makes a conscious decision to either increase decrease the level of self-information disclosure based on an evaluation advantages disadvantages maintaining over unspecified period. An examination literature effect online theory indicates significant alterations have happened social penetration theory, altering process and, therefore, sorts connections resulting from computer-mediated platforms. After extensive screening assessment, 18 articles were selected via review available literature. Subsequently, thematic analysis revealed following primary themes: motives expectations, privacy, audience, interaction, adjustments. The encountered obstacles, such as small selection published materials. This article focuses SPT digital communication, with most focusing networks. Recommendations made very dynamic ever-changing character should be conversation interactions rather than theory.