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Private life is not something given in nature from the beginning of time. It is a historical reality, which different societies have construed in different ways. The boundaries of private life are not laid down once and for all; the division of human activity between public and private spheres is subject to change. Private life makes sense only in relation to public life. —Prost, Public and Private Spheres in France rivate disclosures epitomize the paradox of managing a public persona while maintaining the dignity of one’s private life (Westin, 1970). Talking about our private feelings in public is not always easy. In fact, it is often risky because we might feel embarrassed, uncomfortable, or somehow exposed. For instance, a friend of mine recently went to the doctor complaining of chest pains. She felt uncomfortable talking about these pains because she thought she was too young to have something as dramatic as a heart condition. Nevertheless, she went at her husband’s request. However , when she started telling the doctor the reason for her visit, she revealed only some of the symptoms, waiting to see if the doctor seemed concerned. She thought that if the symptoms she disclosed were nothing, she would not go into depth. In this way, she would avoid the further embarrassment of giving them too much significance. To tell or not to tell is a condition that we frequently face, yet the question is complicated. The question is when to let others know our private side and when to let it stay confidential? As the example above illustrates , revealing private information is never a straightforward decision. We are constantly in a balancing act. We try to weigh the demands of the situation with our needs and those of others around us. Privacy has importance for us because it lets us feel separate from others. It gives us a sense that we are the rightful owners of information about us. There are risks that include making private disclosures to the wrong people, disclosing at a bad time, telling too much about ourselves, or compromising others. On the other hand, disclosure can give enormous benefits. Undoubtedly , recent studies on people facing traumas such as sexual abuse, 1 1 Overview of Communication Privacy Management P HIV/AIDS, or catastrophic illness all confirm the gains they receive from revealing feelings (Derlega & Barbee, 1998; Pennebaker, 1995). We also may increase social control, validate our perspectives, and become more intimate with our relational partners when we disclose (Johnson, 1974). The balance of privacy and disclosure has meaning because it is vital to the way we manage our relationships. Revealing is necessary, yet we see evidence that people value privacy when they lament its apparent demise. For example, Alderman and Kennedy (1995) state that the issues [of privacy] are especially vital today as more and more of our privacy is stripped away. Private individuals join public figures in decrying “tabloid journalism” and complaining that the press can invade lives with impunity. Pro-choice advocates argue that a woman’s right to make fundamental decisions is threatened by a hostile and intrusive government. Increasing concern about crime, terrorism, and calls for stricter law enforcement have led to measures expanding the authority of police to enter our homes, search our belongings, and intercept our communication. Moreover, the notion that information can be kept secret to any degree may simply vanish in cyberspace. (p. ix) Clearly, both disclosure and privacy are important to maintain. Until recently, few theories have isolated a process to understand how people manage the relationship between revealing and concealing. This book presents a theoretical approach that gives us a rule-based system to examine the way people make decisions about balancing disclosure and privacy. The theory of Communication Privacy Management (CPM)1 represents a map that presumes private disclosures are dialectical, that people make choices about revealing or concealing based on criteria and conditions they perceive as salient, and that individuals fundamentally believe they have a right to own and regulate access to their private information. In order to fully grasp the nature of private disclosures, we not only have to consider the individual who is revealing or concealing, but we also must focus on how the decision affects other people. Thus, unlike previous research on “self” disclosure, CPM assumes that others are also central to discerning the tension between being public and private. 2 Overview of Communication Privacy Management 1. The name of the theory has been adjusted in this book...

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