Examining the beneficial effects of individual's self-disclosure on the social network site

Today, individual's self-disclosure on the social network sites (SNS) have become a prevalent phenomenon. This study proposes a research model for investigating the beneficial effects of individual's self disclosure on the social network sites (SNS). In this study, social support and online social well-being are seen as the beneficial effects of individual's self-disclosure on the SNS. Furthermore, this study examines whether self-disclosure increases social support and online social well-being. For developing a more parsimonious research model, this study chose self-disclosure and social support as second-order constructs. Self-disclosure is devised as a formative second-order construct that includes five components: amount, depth, honesty, intent, and valence. Social support is used as a reflective second-order construct comprising two factors: informational support and emotional support. In addition, this research also proposes that social support increase online social well-being. Further, online social wellbeing is hypothesized to positively affect the continuance intention in relation to the SNS. Data collected from 333 Facebook users provided support for all the hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.