An examination of the information disclosure behavior of infertility bloggers. Patterns of self-disclosure and anonymity
| Pages | 175-201 |
| Published date | 10 March 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-06-2013-0055 |
| Date | 10 March 2014 |
| Author | Maria Knoll,Jenny Bronstein |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval |
An examination of the
information disclosure behavior
of infertility bloggers
Patterns of self-disclosure and anonymity
Maria Knoll and Jenny Bronstein
Department of Information Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Abstract
Purpose – The study aimed to investigate the information disclosure behavior of women bloggers
who suffer from infertility by examining their self-disclosure as it relates to the anonymity patterns
they adopted.
Design/methodology/approach – A survey was distributed to approximately 300 authors of
infertility blogs, 135 bloggers answered the request to take part in the study. The survey gathered
basic demographic and blogging practice data, and measured different elements of the bloggers’
discursive and visual anonymity as well as their patters of self-disclosure.
Findings – Findings reveal that the majority of respondents identify themselves on their blogs and
only a small percentage decided to be totally anonymous, and about half of the bloggers post actual
photos of themselves and their lives. The participants reported a high rate of self-disclosure, revealing
sensitive information, letting their defenses down, disclosing highly intimate details about their lives,
writing openly about their infertility treatments on their blog. No significant correlation was observed
between visual and discursive anonymity and the perceived self-disclosure of participants. Results
show that the more anonymous the bloggers are, the more afraid they become that their blog may be
read by people they know offline. On the other hand, the more identifiable the bloggers are, the more
willingness they show to share the content of their journal with people they know offline. The majority
of participants expressed concerns that blogging could negatively impact their lives.
Originality/value – This study explores an alternate explanation through the examination of the
bloggers’ self-disclosure patterns as they relate to the degree of anonymity adopted.
Keywords Information behavior, Blogging,Infertility, Self-disclosure, Self-presentation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In the last decade, personal blogs have become an important venue of self-expression
on the internet because they offer a platform for information sharing, entertainment,
self-expression and social interaction for diverse communities. This study examines
the information disclosure behavior of a specific class of blogs, written by women
struggling with infertility. Information disclosure behavior relates to the revelation of
personal or intimate information t hrough self-presentation and sel f-disclosure
facilitated by the Internet as well as the avoidance or suppression of disclosure of
information. (Bortree, 2005; Bronstein, 2012; Papacharissi, 2004; Trammell et al., 2006;
Vie
´gas, 2005). The present study explores the information disclosure behavior of
women blogging about infertility through an online survey that measured their
self-disclosure patterns as they relate to the degree of anonymity adopted in their blog
as a self-presentation strategy. Self-disclosure refers to the process by which on e
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Information
disclosure
behavior
175
Received 16 June 2013
Revised 18 August 2013
20 October 2013
Accepted 4 December 2013
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 66 No. 2, 2014
pp. 175-201
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-06-2013-0055
person verbally reveals information about the self, including demographic information,
thoughts, feelings, and experiences to another person (Derlega et al., 1993). It is the act
of making yourself manifest, showing yourself so others can perceive you ( Jourard,
1971). Self-disclosure is one of the most basic forms of human encounter. As we
communicate with other people, we reveal ourselves to others in various ways and to
varied degrees. Self-disclosure is an introspective and self-focused form of
communication that plays an important role in the individual’s personal
development and relationship formation (Wu, 2009). Identity is also an important
element of this form of communication. Knowing the sender’s identity can be equally
important to the message content in supplying credibility and motivations in the
communication process. According to Marx (1999), anonymity refers to a state where a
person is not identifiable. The degree of anonymity can range from being totally
anonymous to lacking anonymity all together, being totally identifiable.
The relationship between anonymity and self-disclosure is a two-fold one. On the
one hand, blogs as an online medium represent an ideal venue for self-disclosure and
serve the purpose of self-expression well, while on the other hand self-disclosure can
also be risky because it may invite ridicule or even rejection, thereby placing the
discloser in a socially awkward or vulnerable position (Suler, 2004). Thus, not all
bloggers self-disclose to the same degree and they prefer to retain various degrees of
anonymity. Some bloggers share more private thoughts and intimate details about
their lives than others. Many blogs feature no pictures at all, whereas some blogs
present detailed photos of everyday life. Some people who blog about sensitive issue s
may choose to hide any personal profile information. Others do not care as much and
readily post personal information online. There are also those who take a somewhat
cautious position and are not willing to volunteer anything more than just a name,
which can be their legal name or some chosen pseudonym (Herring et al., 2006). This
study examined the relation between the level of anonymity of bloggers (i.e. whether
the bloggers post in their blogs anonymously, under a pseudonym or by signing with
their real names) and the depth of their self-disclosure. That is, do women who write
anonymously reveal more intimate details about their lives than those who use their
real names? Do women who have their photos posted hold back more personal stories
than those who not?
Literature review
Blogs
Blogs are “frequently modified web pages in which dated entries are listed in reverse
chronological sequence” (Herring et al., 2004) that have become very popular in recent
years. The Pew Internet Project blogger survey (Lenhart and Fox, 2006, p. ii) found that
the American (USA) blogosphere is dominated by those who use blogs as personal
journals, citing 37 percent of participants as reporting that one of their main writing
topics was “my life and experiences”. Blog posts are primarily textual, but many
include photos and other multimedia content. Most blogs provide hypertext links to
other internet sites, and many allow for audience comments. The most popular blogs in
the blogosphere are personal blogs through which people share their experiences,
thoughts, and feelings (Herring et al., 2004). These diary-like, personal blogs (Blood,
2002) are sites of self-disclosure where individuals share observations and thoughts
about their online and offline lives. As Serfaty (2004) explains, personal blogs are
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