Self-disclosure on Snapchat stories and experiences of victimization and harm

Abstract

One of the fastest growing avenues of cybercrime worldwide is social media related cybercrimes (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2021). One of the ways people increase their vulnerability to social media related cybercrime, is through voluntarily self-disclosing personal information on social media applications like Snapchat. Despite Snapchat’s popularity, few studies have investigated the voluntary self-disclosures made on Snapchat stories or the factors associated with making such self-disclosures. This study seeks to address this gap in knowledge by examining the types of personal information people voluntarily self-disclose on Snapchat stories, and the factors significantly associated with making such self-disclosures. The present study also examines the extent to which people report being the victim of a cybercrime because of their voluntary self-disclosures on Snapchat, and the factors associated with reporting such experiences. Using an online survey, consisting of a voluntary sample of 631 adult Snapchat users, this study found that most participants (93.8%) admitted to voluntarily self-disclosing at least one type of personal information on Snapchat stories. Interestingly, two different types of voluntary self-disclosures (exhibited and intimate) were identified, with 90.0% of participants reporting making an exhibited self-disclosure, and 70.8% reporting making an intimate self-disclosure. While subjective norms about posting information on Snapchat were found to be significantly related to making both an exhibited and intimate self-disclosure, the remaining factors found to be significant differed depending on the type of self-disclosure being investigated. Additionally, 4.9% of participants reported being the victim of a crime because of the information they had voluntarily self-disclosed on Snapchat, with several factors identified as being significantly associated with experiencing victimization. These results address a gap in knowledge regarding the prevalence of, and factors associated with, the voluntary self-disclosure of personal information on Snapchat stories, as well as experiences of harm and victimization arising from such self-disclosures. These findings provide new original insights into how self-disclosure should be conceptualized, as well as how different types of self-disclosure may be related to the experience of both victimization and harm on Snapchat. Suggestions for how the findings can be used to inform policy and practice, reduce social media related cybercrime, and help support social media users to avoid victimization are also made.

Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2027.

Date of Award	Jul 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Supervisor	Andrew Percy (Supervisor) & Michelle Butler (Supervisor)