Adolescents' privacy concerns and information disclosure online: The role of parents and the Internet

This study investigated the role of parents and the Internet in adolescents' online privacy concerns and information disclosing behaviors. Specifically, instructive and restrictive parental mediation, adolescents' self-disclosure to parents about their Internet experiences, time spent on the Internet, and participation in online communication activities were examined as factors that may impact adolescents' concerns about online privacy, willingness to disclose personally identifiable information, and actual disclosure of personal information online. A survey conducted in Singapore with 746 adolescents aged 12–18 revealed that instructive parental mediation based on parent-adolescent communication was more effective than restrictive parental mediation based on rule-making and controlling in reducing information disclosure among adolescents. Adolescents' self-disclosure to parents about their Internet experiences was found to be positively associated with their privacy concerns but did not foster privacy protection behaviors. While online chatting had a positive relationship with privacy concerns, excessive use of the Internet and frequent participation in social networking and online gaming resulted in increased information disclosure.     

Factors affecting privacy disclosure on social network sites: an integrated model

The self-disclosure of personal information by users on social network sites (SNSs) play a vital role in the self-sustainability of online social networking service provider platforms. However, people’s levels of privacy concern increases as a direct result of unauthorized procurement and exploitation of personal information from the use of social networks which in turn discourages users from disclosing their information or encourages users to submit fake information online. After a review of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the privacy calculus model, an integrated model is proposed to explain privacy disclosure behaviors on social network sites. Thus, the aim of this paper is to find the key factors affecting users’ self-disclosure of personal information. Using privacy calculus, the perceived benefit was combined into the Theory of Planned Behavior, and after some modifications, an integrated model was prescribed specifically for the context of social network sites. The constructs of information sensitivity and perceived benefit were redefined after reviewing the literature. Through a study on the constructs of privacy concern and self-disclosure, this article aims at reducing the levels of privacy concern, while sustaining online transactions and further stimulating the development of social network sites.     

The role of privacy assurance mechanisms in building trust and the moderating role of privacy concern

Privacy policy statements and privacy assurance cues are among the most important website features that online providers use to increase individuals’ trust and willingness to disclose private information online. The focus of this study is a comprehensive examination of the process by which privacy assurance mechanisms influence trust and the moderating role of privacy concern in this process. We use the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to investigate the way different individuals perceive and process privacy assurance mechanisms. We argue that the trust-enhancing role of these mechanisms depends on the individual’s privacy concern. The results of this study articulate the process by which various privacy assurance mechanisms operate in enhancing an individual’s trust, and show that there are distinct behavioral differences between individuals with high- vs low-privacy concern when forming their trust to disclose private information. The paper sheds new light on the role of elaboration in the trust building process, and shows why privacy assurance mechanisms have different impacts depending on individuals’ privacy concerns.     

See you,see me: Teenagers’ self-disclosure and regret of posting on social network site

Self-disclosure is popular on social network site (SNS). However, teenagers’ self-disclosure behavior and their regret of posting, a negative emotional experience, have been seldom studied. Using data from a nationally representative survey, this study tries to investigate teenagers’ self-disclosure and regret of posting on SNS. We further examine how demographic variables, SNS use, different types of “friends”, trust, and privacy control behavior relate to self-disclosure and regret of posting. We find that though teenagers reveal moderately high level of personal information on SNS, they do not disclose all types of personal information equally. Results also show that male and older teens disclose more personal information. Frequent SNS use, large SNS network size, and having strangers in SNS friend list increase both self-disclosure and posting regret. Setting SNS profile private is related to lower level of self-disclosure. Implications for privacy design of SNS are discussed.     

Proposing the online community self-disclosure model: the case of working professionals in France and the U.K. who use online communities

The global use of online communities has exploded to involve hundreds of millions of users. Despite the tremendous social impact and business opportunities afforded by these communities, little information systems (IS) research has addressed them – especially in a cross-cultural context. Our research proposes an online community self-disclosure model, tested in a cross-cultural setting using data provided by French and British working professionals. Our model is based on social exchange theory (SET) and social penetration theory (SPT), as well as on cross-cultural theory related to individualism-collectivism. SET explains that individuals engage in relationships when the perceived costs associated with the relationship are less than the expected benefits. SPT extends SET to explain that individuals participate in self-disclosure to foster relationships – reciprocation is the primary benefit of self-disclosure, whereas risk is the foundational cost of self-disclosure. Our study established several important findings: positive social influence to use an online community increases online community self-disclosure; reciprocity increases self-disclosure; online community trust increases self-disclosure; and privacy risk beliefs decrease self-disclosure. Meanwhile, a tendency toward collectivism increases self-disclosure. We further found that French participants had higher scores on horizontal individualism than British participants. Several other findings and their implications for practice are also discussed.     

The ‘Privacy Paradox’ in the Social Web: The Impact of Privacy Concerns,Individual Characteristics,and the Perceived Social Relevance on Different Forms of Self‐Disclosure

Given the diffusion of the Social Web and increased disclosure of personal information online, the ‘privacy paradox’ suggests that while Internet users are concerned about privacy, their behaviors do not mirror those concerns. This study investigates the potential influence of privacy concerns, psychological traits, attitudes to the Social Web and age on self‐disclosure. Using an online survey of a representative sample of German Internet users (n = 2, 739), the variety and quality of self‐disclosure as well as access were measured. The findings indicate that privacy concerns hardly impact self‐disclosure, but different variables moderate this relation. Perceived social relevance and the number of applications used proved important. Users' general willingness to disclose is most important when providing sensitive information.     

Constraint-based and dedication-based mechanisms for encouraging online self-disclosure: Is personalization the only thing that matters?

Consumer-generated self-disclosure is better than firm-generated advertising and sales reports in increasing contact opportunities and also more credible for firms to foster alignment with future market expectations. Previous research mostly assesses online self-disclosure from the rational approach of anticipated benefits and privacy risks without considering the “privacy paradox” phenomenon (users behave contrarily to privacy concern) in social networking sites (SNSs). We develop a theoretical model, grounded in constraint-based (lock-in) and dedication-based (trust-building) mechanisms and social identity theory, to predict online self-disclosure. We test the proposed theoretical model by surveying 395 consumers with participation experience in an online SNS. Different from the rational approach behind personalization, we advance knowledge on how to apply social identity, as well as constraint-based and dedication-based mechanisms, to motivate online self-disclosure induced by consumers. We provide theoretical and practical insights based on our research findings for managing the motivational mechanisms of online self-disclosure.     

Do context and personality matter? Trust and privacy concerns in disclosing private information online

Research and business practice have already established the central role of trust in business, particularly in online interactions. Many online business exchanges require the disclosure of sensitive personal information on a regular basis. Simultaneously, customers are reluctant to disclose private information online due to concerns about privacy. Thus, trust plays a critical role in such disclosures. However, a number of factors could influence the extent of customers’ trust and their willingness to disclose their private information. In this study, we explore the critical roles of two sets of factors: the sensitivity of the context within which the private information is disclosed and the customer's personality. Our theory building is based on the contextualization of the theory of reasoned action (TRA-Privacy) and its synthesis with Prospect theory. Our theory argues that context sensitivity as a moderator and individuals’ salient attributes in terms of personality types and privacy concern are critical factors impacting trust and the willingness to disclose personal information. Our results indicate that context moderates the parameters and path structure of the trust model and that the influence of personality on privacy concern and trust depends on the nature of the context. Applying these “who” and “where” aspects of theory building, the study opens a new avenue of context-related research that can further increase the specificity and richness of trust and privacy research. The study also provides a new perspective in trust scholarship, therein requiring the examination of three inter-related components: trustee, trustor and the context of trust.     

The personalization privacy paradox: An exploratory study of decision making process for location-aware marketing

Despite the vast opportunities offered by location-aware marketing (LAM), mobile customers' privacy concerns appear to be a major inhibiting factor in their acceptance of LAM. This study extends the privacy calculus model to explore the personalization-privacy paradox in LAM, with considerations of personal characteristics and two personalization approaches (covert and overt). Through an experimental study, we empirically validated the proposed model. Results suggest that the influences of personalization on the privacy risk/benefit beliefs vary upon the type of personalization systems (covert and overt), and that personal characteristics moderate the parameters and path structure of the privacy calculus model.     

Measuring self-disclosure online: Blurring and non-response to sensitive items in web-based surveys

People are increasingly required to disclose personal information to computer- and Internet-based systems in order to register, identify themselves or simply for the system to work as designed. In the present paper, we outline two different methods to easily measure people’s behavioral self-disclosure to web-based forms. The first, the use of an ‘I prefer not to say’ option to sensitive questions is shown to be responsive to the manipulation of level of privacy concern by increasing the salience of privacy issues, and to experimental manipulations of privacy. The second, blurring or increased ambiguity was used primarily by males in response to an income question in a high privacy condition. Implications for the study of self-disclosure in human–computer interaction and web-based research are discussed.     

Unfolding the privacy paradox among mobile social commerce users: a multi-mediation approach

Considering that privacy paradox is currently an underexplored research area, this study proposes a privacy paradox model to explain the reasons behind such phenomenon. Built upon the theoretical link of belief-intention-behaviour and the idea of multi-mediation, this study seeks to discover the relationship between concern for social media information privacy and usage intention, and the potential mediators that stand between such linkage. The results suggest that perceived mobility and social support do mediate the said linkage, and the model could reasonably explain usage intention, which surprisingly has a negative association with usage behaviour. Theoretical and practical implications are subsequently offered.     

AIoT-enabled smart surveillance for personal data digitalization: Contextual personalization-privacy paradox in smart home

Artificial intelligence of things technology provides smart surveillance capability for personal data digitalization. It will invade individuals’ information, physical, and social spaces and raise contextual privacy concerns while providing personalized services, which has not been explored in previous research. We theorize three types of smart surveillance and identify three subdimensions of contextual personalization and privacy concerns. Grounded in surveillance theory and personalization-privacy paradox, we examined the different trade-offs of contextual personalization and privacy concerns underlying the three types of smart surveillance on users’ behavioral intention in smart home context. The results also indicated that transparency can lessen the trade-off effects.     

Systematic review on privacy categorisation

In the modern digital world users need to make privacy and security choices that have far-reaching consequences. Researchers are increasingly studying people’s decisions when facing with privacy and security trade-offs, the pressing and time consuming disincentives that influence those decisions, and methods to mitigate them. This work aims to present a systematic review of the literature on privacy categorisation, which has been defined in terms of profile, profiling, segmentation, clustering and personae. Privacy categorisation involves the possibility to classify users according to specific prerequisites, such as their ability to manage privacy issues, or in terms of which type of and how many personal information they decide or do not decide to disclose. Privacy categorisation has been defined and used for different purposes. The systematic review focuses on three main research questions that investigate the study contexts, i.e. the motivations and research questions, that propose privacy categorisations; the methodologies and results of privacy categorisations; the evolution of privacy categorisations over time. Ultimately it tries to provide an answer whether privacy categorisation as a research attempt is still meaningful and may have a future.     

Online self-disclosure: The privacy paradox explained as a temporally discounted balance between concerns and rewards

Technological innovations are increasingly helping people expand their social capital through online networks by offering new opportunities for sharing personal information. Online social networks are perceived to provide individuals new benefits and have led to a surge of personal data uploaded, stored, and shared. While privacy concerns are a major issue for many users of social networking sites, studies have shown that their information disclosing behavior does not align with their concerns. This gap between behavior and concern is called the privacy paradox. Several theories have been explored to explain this, but with inconsistent and incomplete results. This study investigates the paradox using a construal level theory lens. We show how a privacy breach, not yet experienced and psychologically distant, has less weight in everyday choices than more concrete and psychologically-near social networking activities and discuss the implications for research and practice.     

Revealing the relationship between rational fatalism and the online privacy paradox

Previous research has revealed the privacy paradox, which suggests that despite concern about their online privacy, people still reveal a large amount of personal information and don’t take measures to protect personal privacy online. Using data from a national-wide survey, this study takes a psychological approach and uses the rational fatalism theory to explain the privacy paradox on the Internet and the social networking sites (SNSs). The rational fatalism theory argues that risks will become rational if the person believes he or she has no control over the outcome. Our results support the rational fatalism view. We found that people with higher levels of fatalistic belief about technologies and business are less likely to protect their privacy on the Internet in general, and the SNS in particular. Moreover, such relationship is stronger among young Internet users compared with older users.     

The reciprocal effects of social network site use and the disposition for self-disclosure: A longitudinal study

Since the advent of social network sites (SNSs), scholars have critically discussed the psychological and societal implication of online self-disclosure. Does Facebook change our willingness to disclose personal information? The present study proposes that the use of SNSs and the psychological disposition for self-disclosure interact reciprocally: Individuals with a stronger disposition show a higher tendency to use SNSs (selection effect). At the same time, frequent SNS use increases the wish to self-disclose online, because self-disclosing behaviors are reinforced through social capital within the SNS environment (socialization effect). In a longitudinal panel study, 488 users of SNSs were surveyed twice in a 6 months interval. Data were analyzed using structure equation modeling. The proposed reciprocal effects of SNS activities and self-disclosure were supported by the data: The disposition for online self-disclosure had a positive longitudinal effect on SNS use which in turn positively influenced the disposition for online self-disclosure. Both effects were moderated by the amount of social capital users received as a consequence of their SNS use.     

An Extended Privacy Calculus Model for SNSs: Analyzing Self‐Disclosure and Self‐Withdrawal in a Representative U.S. Sample

The privacy calculus established that online self‐disclosures are based on a cost‐benefit tradeoff. For the context of SNSs, however, the privacy calculus still needs further support as most studies consist of small student samples and analyze self‐disclosure only, excluding self‐withdrawal (e.g., the deletion of posts), which is essential in SNS contexts. Thus, this study used a U.S. representative sample to test the privacy calculus' generalizability and extend its theoretical framework by including both self‐withdrawal behaviors and privacy self‐efficacy. Results confirmed the extended privacy calculus model. Moreover, both privacy concerns and privacy self‐efficacy positively predicted use of self‐withdrawal. With regard to predicting self‐disclosure in SNSs, benefits outweighed privacy concerns; regarding self‐withdrawal, privacy concerns outweighed both privacy self‐efficacy and benefits.     

A novel policy-driven reversible anonymisation scheme for XML-based services

This paper proposes a reversible anonymisation scheme for XML messages that supports fine-grained enforcement of XACML-based privacy policies. Reversible anonymisation means that information in XML messages is anonymised, however the information required to reverse the anonymisation is cryptographically protected in the messages. The policy can control access down to octet ranges of individual elements or attributes in XML messages. The reversible anonymisation protocol effectively implements a multi-level privacy and security based approach, so that only authorised stakeholders can disclose confidential information up to the privacy or security level they are authorised for. The approach furthermore supports a shared secret based scheme, where stakeholders need to agree to disclose confidential information. Last, it supports time limited access to private or confidential information. This opens up for improved control of access to private or confidential information in XML messages used by a service oriented architecture. The solution provides horizontally scalable confidentiality protection for certain types of big data applications, like XML databases, secure logging and data retention repositories.     

Privacy is dead,get over it! 1 Information privacy and the dream of a risk-free society

The use of information and communications technology and the ‘digitalisation’ of everyday tasks has resulted in a paradigm shift where vast amounts of personal information about individuals, their opinions and habits is generated and stored in the databases of those providing online services. The mere existence of those data pools has created ‘unwholesome’ desires in both private and public organisations which cover that data for their own purposes. This article looks at the way in which the ‘market value’ of privacy seems to be falling as individuals are persuaded to disclose information about themselves in order to minimise real or perceived risks. It examines the way in which our perception of risk has changed in recent years and the way in which that perception may be manipulated. It analyses the link between risk perception, data processing and individual concepts of privacy as well as the dangers that increased privacy intrusion represents for the relationship between the individual and the state and the relationship between citizens.     

Why do people share their context information on Social Network Services? A qualitative study and an experimental study on users' behavior of balancing perceived benefit and risk

Despite the rapid growth of context-aware systems and ubiquitous computing, the factors influencing users' decision to share their context information in a social setting are poorly understood. This study aims to clarify why users share their context information in social network service (SNS), even while they are concerned with the potential risk at the same time. Drawing on the diverse theories of self-disclosure, we take an approach that the consideration of benefit encourages users to endure the existence of risk, and that users actively adjust the way they share their information to optimize the level of benefit and risk. In a qualitative study, we examined what kinds of risks and benefits exist in context information sharing situations and how users control them. An experiment was conducted using stimuli that simulate the actual use of SNS to investigate the effect of various context types and control types on users' expected benefit and risk and their intention to share. The results showed that both expected benefit and expected risk influenced users' intention to share. More interestingly, the effect of expected benefit was found to be stronger than that of expected risk. Moreover, different privacy control strategies were found to have induced different effects on the expected benefit and expected risk. Implications and limitations of this study were proposed at the end of this study.