Self-disclosure and psychological well-being in social media

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Abstract

Self-disclosure is pervasive on social media and has significant implications for psychological well-being. In this review we synthesize recent research on the motivations, mechanisms and effects of self-disclosure on well-being and then propose a framework that highlights the bidirectional relationship between self-disclosure and well-being. The framework details the mechanisms by which self-disclosure on social media can influence well-being and how self-disclosure fulfills particular needs of individuals with different well-being characteristics. We call for future research to examine the proposed bi-directional relationship, especially studies designed to tease out causal effects.