Ch.3 Benefits and Risks of Self disclosure

In this blog I'll be talking about self-disclosure. More specifically I will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of self- disclosure, along with sharing some examples from my own life.

Before explaining the risks and benefits of self-disclosure we must first understand what self-disclosure is. Self disclosure is the act of giving other people information about ourselves that they don't already know. An example of self-discloure would be in one scene from The Breakfast Club when all the kids are sitting around in the library sharing personal information about themselves. There are four main benefits of self- disclosure. The first one is the enhancement of relationships. By disclosing information to our close family and friends we can make our relationships stronger. When I first met one of my friends I never told her I loved to bowl. Once I told her, she said she loved to bowl as well and it made us have a closer friendship because of it. The second benefit is recprocity. When we share something personal with our friends and family they also feel like they can let their guard down and share something as well. The third benefit of self-disclosure is emotional release. When we share a confession to our family we can instantly feel relieved. A couple years ago I was painting my nails in my room with a bright teal color. I am very clumsy and usually end up spilling everything. As you can guess I spilled the nail polish everywhere and it splattered all over my carpet. My mom tried to help me but it wasn't coming out of the carpet. I didn't tell my dad because I know he would freak if he saw it. After a couple of weeks I felt really guilty and got a little paranoid that he would find out, so I told him. He was super angry but I felt so much better after telling him. The final benefit to self-disclosure is assistance to others. If someone you know is going through a rough patch in their life you can tell them how to help deal with it. When my friends grandma died I told her about the time when my grandma died and how I was able to deal with it. I feel like by us both losing a family member I think it really helped my friend cope. With the advantages also comes the disadvantages of self-disclosure. One risk is the fact of being rejected by the person to whom you are confiding to. The second risk is the chance of obligating others. By telling something to one of your friends they may feel like they have to tell you something very personal to them. A third risk to self-disclosure is the possibility of hurting others. If someone asks you something personal to them and you don't want to hurt their feelings you may lie to them or have to tell them the truth. My best friend starting dating this one guy who was really clingy and never let her hang out with her friends. She asked me what I thought of him and I could tell that she really liked him so I decided not to hurt her feelings so I told her he seemed liked a nice guy and she had my approval. The final risk of self-disclosure is the violation of someones privacy. When you tell something personal to a friend someone else could overhear and begin to spread rumors about that person. Something like this has luckily never happened to me but in my high school it seemed like it was always happening some poor girl and the truth was always getting twisted around.