Diffused Intimacy: Trust and Self-Disclosure in Online Relationship
Diffused Intimacy: Trust and Self-Disclosure in Online Relationship

Summary/Abstract: Self-disclosure can facilitate the development and maintenance of online relationships but it also poses challenges — the overlapping of distinct social spheres and invisibility of audiences can make communication more complicated. The aim of this paper is to analyze the outcomes of this conflict between self-disclosure risks and benefits. Data from the Latvian online social networking/online diary site Sviesta ciba suggest that self-disclosure and trust are associated with socially positive outcomes but the number of users’ online connections does not depend on the level of their intimate self-disclosure. I argue that the site’s users incorporate principles of “diffused intimacy” in their communication patterns, i.e. they accept risks that are associated with disclosing personal information to their audience in return for potentially facilitated communication and other social benefits.

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