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Self-Disclosure In A Grief Observed By C. S.

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While I was conducting my research on the increase of self-disclosure through means of CMC, I had an interesting encounter with a colleague who recently lost his wife to brain cancer this past year. He has been struggling through the grieving process and is a frequent user of social media in his personal and professional life. During his grieving process, he posted a quote from a book called A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis accompanying it was a brief synopsis of his struggles with overcoming his loss and his hardships with understanding the grieving process. This particular occasion piqued my interest because he specifically chose to post this information to Instagram and was extremely adamant about not posting it to Facebook. I began …show more content…

The amount of personal information that individuals choose to reveal about themselves online has become the topic of much debate within the realm of Socio-Psychology researchers. Self-Disclosure is the process in which an individual reveals personal information, verbal or non-verbal communication, about them self; a process controversially crucial to creating a bond of intimacy within a relationship. Self-Disclosure develops by the breadth or variety of topics of information discussed and by the depth or personal significance of the topics discussed through a systematic process of communication changes also known as Social Penetration Theory (Miller, 2011). The Information Age is a period throughout history that characterized a shift from traditional industry of machine manufacturing processes to an economy based on information computerization. According to researcher A.N. Joinson (2007), “Both experimental and anecdotal evidence suggests that computer-mediated communications (CMC) and general Internet-based behavior can be characterized as containing high levels of self-disclosure.” The Information Age led to an increase in individuals who elect to self-disclose and has shortened the time duration in which it takes for personal information to be communicated; therefore, self-disclosure on the internet may not depend on intimacy to develop a relationship as it does in

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