NEGOTIATING PRIVACY AND INTIMACY: GENERATION Z’S SELF-DISCLOSURE THROUGH INSTAGRAM SECOND ACCOUNTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION
Abstract
This study examines how Generation Z uses Instagram second accounts as spaces for self-disclosure when expressing personal problems, and the implications of this practice for social interaction. Guided by questions on why second accounts feel safer than primary accounts, how privacy and audience boundaries are negotiated, and how this reshapes social dynamics including closeness, support, validation, and exclusion this qualitative scoping review synthesizes literature through frameworks such as Social Penetration Theory, dramaturgical self-presentation, Communication Privacy Management (CPM), privacy calculus, and context collapse. The findings reveal that second accounts function as semi-private arenas enabling more personal, emotional, and selective disclosure. Their perceived safety stems from limited, trusted, and controllable audiences. However, this practice yields ambivalent outcomes: it strengthens relational closeness, emotional support, and trust, yet may intensify dependence on peer validation, reinforce insider-outsider boundaries, and create new privacy vulnerabilities. The study concludes that Instagram second accounts are not merely outlets for online venting but represent controlled intimacy spaces a concept introduced to capture how Generation Z strategically negotiates privacy, vulnerability, and social interaction under intense digital visibility pressures. These spaces allow for restoring fragmented contexts while managing the risks of collapsed audiences, ultimately reshaping how young people balance authenticity, safety, and connection in digitally saturated environments
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