Hello stranger! Trust and self-disclosure effects on online information sharing

The current study examined the role of personality attributes and online profile characteristics as predictors of self-disclosure. The authors were specifically interested to learn how personality and profile attractiveness influenced the quantity and type of information individuals would be willing to share about themselves with a potential dating partner who they have never met before. The results of the online survey with 149 female participants revealed that the propensity to trust and extraversion were significant positive predictors of self-reported tendency to self-disclose potentially sensitive and identifying information, while greater profile attractiveness further increased the amount of information they were willing to share. These findings suggest that information disclosure is in part driven by personality and context, which has potential implications for how careful individuals are about revealing potentially sensitive information to strangers.