First impressions in 280 characters or less: Sharing life on Twitter and the mediating role of social presence

Abstract The present research investigated how self-disclosing messages on Twitter influence the way people develop first impressions in a zero-history relationship context. Using an online experiment, Study 1 examined the effects of disclosure topics (professional vs. personal) and sentimental expressions (descriptive vs. emotional). Findings demonstrated that personal (compared to professional) and emotional (compared to descriptive) self-disclosure styles have more positive effects on developing favorable interpersonal perceptions. Study 2 further examined the effect of emotional self-disclosure. Findings demonstrated that positive emotional self-disclosure results in greater interpersonal attraction than negative emotional self-disclosure. In both Study 1 and Study 2, social presence functions a mediating role between self-disclosure and developing interpersonal perceptions.