Disclosure and Timeliness: Do users need a Later Button?

Abstract

Research has repeatedly shown that computer-mediated communications (CMC) lead to higher levels of disclosure of personal information (Tidwell and Walther 2002). Recent studies have examined the role of increasingly common social media and social network services (SNS) on disclosure in a variety of contexts (Mazer et al. 2007; Tufekci 2008). The combination of personal demographic data, taste preferences, public disclosure of friend networks and now increasing usage of tools for instantly updating status (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) has, we believe, fundamentally altered users' understanding of the temporality of information and its (semi-)permanence. This study investigates users' willingness to disclose information with respect to how long ago that information may have been created or captured. Users were more willing to share items as time passed. Potentially, a "Later Button" should be put into practice to address this latent willingness (40% of sharing scenarios) to disclose information at a later date.