Abstract

Social media platform usage and online community participation has increased to a near ubiquitous level, (Pew Research Centre, 2016). However, to date, much attention has focused on the factors that influence individual’s trust and adoption of social media networks and online communities in general. In contrast, research on the factors that influence trust and self-disclosure on social media health platforms and associated online health communities remains remarkably limited. This is particularly surprising as adoption and usage of these health platforms remains comparatively constrained, thereby limiting potential social and health benefits to consumers, whilst also being an issue of concern to those who develop and design these platforms. This paper examines the extant literature on the factors that influence usage and participation in social media platforms and online communities and which are therefore likely to be relevant to examinations of self-disclosure in an online health context. In doing so, it contributes to technology adoption research in the area of user trust and self-disclosure on social media health platforms and online health communities.

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