Self-disclosure in online social networks: The needs-affordances-features perspective

Abstract

Drawing on affordance theory and the needs–affordances–features (NAF) perspective, this paper examines the impacts of online social network (OSN) affordances and psychological ownership on users’ self-disclosure. Through the analysis of data collected from a field survey and a scenario-based experiment, we found that accessibility, information retrieval, editability, and association affordances positively affect psychological ownership, which further determines users’ self-disclosure on OSNs. This paper not only advances the understanding of OSN self-disclosure by emphasizing the significance of OSN affordances and psychological ownership but also offers practical insights for OSN providers to enhance self-disclosure by designing effective affordances.