Self-disclosure, privacy and the Internet

literature on self-disclosure and the Internet, in particular by focusing on disclosure in computer-mediated communication (CMC) and web-based forms – both to surveys and in e-commerce applications. We also consider the links between privacy and self-disclosure, and the unique challenges (and opportunities) that the Internet poses for the protection of privacy. Finally, we propose three critical issues that unite the ways in which we can best understand the links between privacy, self-disclosure and new technology: trust and vulnerability, costs and benefits and control over personal information. Central to the chapter is the notion that selfdisclosure is not simply the outcome of a communication encounter: rather, it is both a product and process of interaction, as well as a way for regulating interaction dynamically. We propose that by adopting a privacy approach to understanding disclosure online, it becomes possible to consider not only media effects that encourage disclosure, but also the wider context and implications of such communicative behaviours.