Gender Differences on Self-disclosure in Face-to-Face Versus E-mail Communication

Abstract

Computer-mediated communication patterns have revolutionized traditional interpersonal communication. This study investigates gender differences of self-disclosure in face-to-face communication and e-mail usage. 297 Chinese students were included in the study. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding the degree of self-disclosure on different conversational topics and to selected target persons, in the forms of face-to-face communication and electronic-mail communication respectively. Results indicate that females are more likely than males to disclose in both situations. Gender differences in conversational topics were also noted in the paper