The Role of Fear of Negative Evaluation to Self-disclosure on Social Media Among Emerging Adults

Social media serves as a platform for users to engage in self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is a form of communication intentionally used by individuals to reveal personal information to others. However, existing phenomena show that individuals in adolescence and early adulthood often avoid self-disclosure, one reason being the fear of negative evaluation. This study aims to examine the role of fear of negative evaluation in relation to self-disclosure on social media. The instrument used to measure fear of negative evaluation is a modified version of Leary’s (1983) scale, while the self-disclosure instrument is constructed based on the theory of Latifa. The analysis technique employed is simple regression analysis, with the hypothesis that fear of negative evaluation plays a role in influencing self-disclosure among emerging adults’ social media users. The results indicate that the hypothesis is supported, showing that fear of negative evaluation contributes to self-disclosure on social media, with a contribution rate of 12.2%.