Dimensions of Self-Disclosure and Visual Self-Presentation in WhatsApp Profile Pictures Among Young Adults

Abstract The profile picture is often the first and sometimes only visual cue of a user’s identity in messaging platforms, making it a relevant object of inquiry for human-computer interaction. This study examines how the dimensions of self-disclosure (SD) relate to the visual self- presentation enacted in WhatsApp profile pictures, in a sample of 186 Italian young adults, combining a multidimensional self- report SD measure with independent visual coding of the pictures. The five SD dimensions (amount, depth, valence, accuracy, and intention) formed a coherent, positively interrelated structure, with amount and depth most strongly associated and the qualitative dimensions clustering among themselves. Crucially, specific SD dimensions mapped onto specific visual cues: deeper disclosure co-occurred with a more direct gaze and a more deliberately posed image, while more intentional disclosure co-occurred with more expressive facial displays. These findings suggest that the way people disclose verbally is reflected, along specific dimensions, in how they present themselves visually, with implications for the design of self-presentation affordances and for the interpretation of visual cues in computer-mediated communication.