COM5101 Chap.7 Self Disclosure, Privacy and Uncertainty
Self Disclosure, Privacy and Uncertainty
Disclosure makes the self perceptible
Self-disclosure involves making personal information available so that another person can perceive something about the speaker. The lecture connects disclosure to relationship development and uncertainty reduction.
Sharing can help people learn how future interaction may unfold, but its effect depends on audience, purpose, reciprocity and context.
Online settings change the boundary
Networked media add persistence, searchability and audiences that are difficult to see. A message addressed to a small group can travel far beyond it without the words changing.
The privacy question is therefore not answered by asking whether information was once shared voluntarily. Control can be lost when audience or purpose changes.
Disclosure carries benefits and risks together
Personal information can invite support, coordinate care and build trust. It can also create vulnerability or burden another person. The same detail may deepen one relationship and violate a norm in another.
Analyse who disclosed, to whom, why, with what expectation and under what practical ability to refuse further use.
Uncertainty reduction is not automatic
A disclosure can reduce uncertainty by making preferences or experience clearer. It can also increase uncertainty if recipients cannot tell why the information was shared or whether confidentiality is expected. The mechanism should be stated rather than assumed.
More information is not always more clarity.
Privacy can mean contextual control
Concealment is only one privacy strategy. Another is managing the movement of information between contexts. A technically closed group may still be socially porous, and removing a name may not prevent local identification.
Strong analysis follows the information across boundaries and identifies who gains authority over its next use.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Relational disclosure
- 02
Uncertainty reduction
- 03
Audience boundaries
- 04
Purpose change
- 05
Persistence and search
- 06
Contextual privacy
Worked example · free
Analyse copied health disclosure
- 2State the original purpose.
- 2Identify changed boundaries.
- 2Explain the loss of control.
- 2Propose a repair.
Key terms
- Self Disclosure
- The act of making personal information available so another person can perceive something about the speaker.
- Uncertainty Reduction
- A process through which information helps people predict or understand future interaction.
- Context Collapse
- The convergence of audiences that were previously separate, making one message answer to incompatible norms.
- Privacy Boundary
- An expected limit on who may access information, for what purpose and under which conditions.
Self Disclosure, Privacy and Uncertainty FAQ
Does voluntary disclosure remove later privacy claims?
No. A person can choose to share information with one audience for one purpose without authorising public reuse. Analyse whether audience, purpose, persistence or identifiability changed. The privacy issue concerns control across contexts, not only whether the first disclosure was voluntary.
How can disclosure reduce uncertainty?
Disclosure can reveal preferences, experience or intentions that make future interaction easier to predict. The mechanism depends on how recipients interpret the information and whether it is reciprocated. Information that arrives without context can increase uncertainty by raising questions about motive or expected response.
Is a closed online group automatically private?
No. Technical access control reduces visibility but does not stop copying, screenshots or recognition by people outside the group. Evaluate the group's social norms, member expectations and the persistence of content. Privacy is a practical boundary, not simply a platform setting.
Why can more disclosure increase uncertainty?
Recipients may understand the content while remaining unsure about motive, expected response or who else has access. Analyse the mechanism instead of assuming information always clarifies. A useful answer names what became predictable and which new ambiguity the disclosure introduced.
Assessment move
Use a boundary worksheet with five prompts: speaker, intended audience, purpose, persistence and possible secondary audience. Apply it to an original low-stakes scenario and show how changing one element changes the analysis. Distinguish the benefit of disclosure from permission for reuse.
For quiz practice, compare two explanations for the same act, such as uncertainty reduction and identity performance, then name evidence that separates them. For the paper, avoid treating public and private as a binary. Describe the contextual rule and the mechanism through which information crosses it.
Draw two paths from the same message: one where it remains inside the intended relationship and one where it is copied, searched or repurposed. At each transition, identify who gains decision authority and whether fresh agreement is practical. This makes contextual control visible. Review uncertainty in both directions.
Ask what the disclosure clarifies and what new ambiguity it creates about motive, audience or expected response. A strong application explains why the net effect differs across relationships instead of assuming that additional information always improves understanding.
