Title: The more I open up, the more you 'like' me: self-disclosure and intimacy predict engagement in women's Facebook groups

Authors: Dana Weimann-Saks; Yaron Ariel; Vered Elishar-Malka

Addresses: Communication Department, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel ' Communication Department, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel ' Communication Department, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel

Abstract: The current research focuses on two closed Facebook groups founded and operated by women, and targets an exclusively female audience with over 100,000 members in each. By analysing 433 posts from one group (study 1), and 1,070 from another (study 2), this paper identified the relationships between levels of self-disclosure expressed in members' posts, levels of intimacy regarding the topics discussed, and the scale and nature of engagement with these posts. Findings indicate a positive correlation between self-disclosure in the posts and engagement with the posts. This correlation was evident mainly in personal topics. In this sense, closed women's groups on Facebook have the power to enrich users' lives with new opportunities for self-expression, socialisation, and empowerment.

Keywords: social media; closed Facebook groups; women; self-disclosure; intimacy; engagement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2022.124776

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2022 Vol.18 No.2, pp.173 - 185

Received: 15 Jun 2021
Accepted: 05 Nov 2021
Published online: 08 Aug 2022 *

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