“Who I’d Like to Meet: Lil Wayne and God” Self-Disclosure in Emerging Adults’ MySpace Profiles Piotr Szymon Bobkowski A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Chapel Hill 2010 Approved by, Jane D. Brown Joe Bob Hester Sriram Kalyanaraman Lisa D. Pearce Lynn S. Clark © 2010 Piotr Szymon Bobkowski ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Piotr Szymon Bobkowski ―Who I‘d Like to Meet: Lil Wayne and God‖ Self-Disclosure in Emerging Adults‘ MySpace Profiles (Under the direction of Jane D. Brown, Ph.D.) Self-disclosure—the communication of information about oneself to another—is fundamental to the construction of a personal online presence. In many online venues (e.g., MySpace, Facebook) users self-disclose themselves into being. This study examined who said what about themselves on MySpace and how consistently they did so in comparison to their offline disclosures. The study assessed overall self-disclosure and religious self-disclosure because little is known about how individuals communicate about religion with their peers. Public, active MySpace profiles (N = 573) belonging to emerging adults (18–23 years old) in a nationally representative U.S. sample were examined. Each online self- disclosure was coded into a content category (e.g., media preferences, relationships, religion/spirituality, etc.). Self-disclosure was assessed on four dimensions (quantity, breadth, depth, consistency). The online data were then analyzed in relation to the profile owners‘ survey responses. Overall, profile owners self-disclosed broadly and consistently, but superficially. iii The average profile contained 109 self-disclosures; some contained as many as 800. Self- disclosures about media preferences were most frequent; current events were least frequent. Women self-disclosed more, and with more depth than men. Risk-takers self- disclosed in more depth than non-risk-takers. Being satisfied with life was associated negatively with frequency and positively with consistency of self-disclosure. Young people who scored high on purpose in life self-disclosed more, but were less consistent between their online and survey disclosures. Looking specifically at religion, a majority (70%) of the profiles contained at least one religious self-disclosure, although most profile owners did not communicate about their religious or spiritual identities beyond the predetermined affiliation labels of the ―Religion‖ field (e.g., ―Christian-other,‖ ―Catholic‖). Religiosity was associated with more and with consistent religious self-disclosure. Having religious friends was associated with more and deeper religious self-disclosure. Religious individuals who believed that religion was a private matter, or who held negative perceptions of organized religion or religious people, self-disclosed less about religion. In sum, young people tend to present themselves online as well-rounded, although they tend not to engage in deep self-disclosures. Nondisclosure is more common than inconsistent disclosure. Individual differences and attitudes predict how extensively, broadly, deeply, and consistently young people self-disclose online. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As I worked on this dissertation, I often marveled at my good fortune. I truly love what I do and I am surrounded and supported by people who continually affirm and challenge my work. What a thrill! The John Templeton Foundation provided generous funding for this dissertation through the ―Youth Self-Presentation of Spirituality Online‖ grant. Jane Brown has been so much more than an advisor. She is an exacting researcher, a patient editor, a generous mentor, and an enthusiastic champion. A tireless advocate for key issues in various settings, she demonstrates that our lives as academics make most sense when we reach beyond ourselves to the broader community. Each member of my dissertation committee had a unique impact on me and on this study. It is a privilege to have all five of these individuals on the committee. Joe Bob Hester, a rigorous methodologist, taught me to appreciate the science and art of content analysis. Sri Kalyanaraman, a careful theorist, spread open before me the worlds of computer-mediated communication, human-computer interaction, and experimental research methods. Lynn Clark‘s work has inspired me since the first time I came across it in my master‘s program, and it continues to serve as a source of assurance that researching media, religion, and youth is a meaningful and worthwhile endeavor. Lisa Pearce has been generous with her time, resources, and advice. It was a chance encounter v between Lisa and Jane somewhere on a North Carolina beach that planted the seed for this study. Terri Clark‘s forethought and persistence made this project happen. As NSYR project manager, Terri enthusiastically oversaw the collection of all the data used here and laid the groundwork for later phases of the analysis. She expertly kept us on track, and made sure that our documents, finances, and supplies were always where they needed to be. This study involved a considerable amount of coding that, no matter how interesting the subject matter, got tedious. I was fortunate to be assisted by five individuals who were enthusiastic, thoughtful, dedicated, and meticulous. Eva Hendershot, Patrick Miller, Deborah Neffa, Dave Remund, and Brooke Weberling comprised the best coding team I could have wished for. Deborah, who worked on this longer than the others, looked at hundreds of profiles several times over, filled in countless spreadsheets, and put up with my sometimes obtuse instructions and unpredictable mood swings. Thank you for approaching this study with such professionalism. Over the course of my time at Carolina I have had the privilege of taking classes from, or working for, some of the best among the J-School faculty. Lois Boynton, Alberto Cairo, Rhonda Gibson, Michael Hoefges, Anne Johnston, Cathy Packer, and Ruth Walden have each challenged and inspired me in unique and profound ways. Among scholastic journalism folk, Kathy Forde convinced me to choose Carolina and she has encouraged me along the way; and Monica Hill has been a sounding board, a source of fascinating information, a traveling companion, and an unwavering booster. vi Rachel Mersey and Derigan Silver took me under their wings during my first week in the program and taught me about the importance of an impressive work ethic and about never taking this entire enterprise too seriously. Jessica Smith, my officemate and accomplice, knows me better than anyone in the program. I am grateful that she continues to be my friend regardless. Christina Malik, with her unique blend of high energy and warmth, has been a dependable source of both motivation and comfort. Patrick Miller has provided much appreciated companionship on many fun adventures and mundane undertakings these last three years. He has also patiently answered many statistics questions along the way. (Now that‘s self-presentation at work!) My parents, Teresa and Romek Bobkowski, have been a constant presence in my life and my most steadfast supporters. Even though I don‘t tell them this, I am continually guided by the standards they set for us in academics and life in general. Finally, Chapel Hill, this ―southern part of heaven,‖ has played an integral role as the setting for this work. Its sleepy neighborhoods and wooded trails have gently nurtured me throughout this endeavor. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Conceptual Foundations ....................................................................................7 I. Impression Management and Self-Presentation ..............................................7 II. Self-Disclosure ................................................................................................8 General Definitions ................................................................................8 Operational Definitions ..........................................................................9 III. Self-Disclosure in Computer-Mediated Communication .............................12 Consequences of Online Self-Disclosure.............................................12 Antecedents of Online Self-Disclosure ................................................13 This Study‘s Contribution to the Literature .........................................14 IV. Self-disclosure dimensions ...........................................................................15 Breadth and Depth ...............................................................................15 Quantity................................................................................................17 Consistency ..........................................................................................18 viii V. Antecedents of Overall Self-Disclosure ........................................................22 Gender ..................................................................................................23 Subjective Well-Being .........................................................................25