Securing online privacy: An empirical test on Internet scam victimization,online privacy concerns,and privacy protection behaviors

The current study identified the antecedents of being an Internet scam victim and how it impacts online privacy concerns and privacy protection behaviors. Structural equation modeling on data from a survey of 11,534 Internet users revealed that one indicator of weak self-control (i.e., willingness of risky investments) and two indicators of routine Internet activities (i.e., online shopping and opening emails from unknown sources) positively predicted being an Internet scam victim. Subsequently, being an Internet scam victim predicted increased online privacy concerns, which, in turn, predicted elevated privacy protection behaviors. Moreover, we found that being an Internet scam victim mediated the effects of routine Internet activities on privacy protection behaviors and that online privacy concerns mediated the effect of being an Internet scam on privacy protection behaviors. Unlike most Internet privacy studies using protection motivation theory only, the current study contributes to the understanding of the Internet scam victimization by incorporating three new theories—extended parallel process model, self-control theory, and routine activity theory. The research findings provided valuable implications for theory and practice related to Internet scam processes and prevention.     

Understanding the privacy behavior of adolescents on Facebook: The role of peers,popularity and trust

We study whether peer influence processes, popularity and trust predict privacy settings on Facebook. We use large-scale survey data from 3434 Dutch adolescents combined with observed privacy behavior on Facebook. The findings show that peer influence processes play a role and that adolescents imitate the privacy settings of their peers in the classroom. Such imitation processes are particularly pronounced for highly connected classrooms. The results show that more popular adolescents in the classroom are more likely to publicly display their Facebook profiles. Furthermore, we find that low-trust groups (ethnic minorities, lower educated and younger adolescents, and girls) more frequently opt for private Facebook profiles.     

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.     

The effect of online privacy policy on consumer privacy concern and trust

This study aims to investigate trust and privacy concerns related to the willingness to provide personal information online under the influence of cross-cultural effects. This study investigated the relationships among the content of online privacy statements, consumer trust, privacy concerns, and the moderating effect of different cultural backgrounds of the respondents. In specific, this study developed a proposed model based on Privacy–Trust–Behavioral Intention model. Further, a total of 500 participants participated in the survey, including 250 from Russia and 250 from Taiwan. The findings indicate a significant relationship between the content of privacy policies and privacy concern/trust; willingness to provide personal information and privacy concern/trust; privacy concern and trust. The cross-cultural effect on the relationships between the content of privacy policies and privacy concern/trust was also found significant.     

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.     

Social networking searching and privacy issues

The explosion of social networking sites has not only changed the way people communicate, but also added a new dimension to the way for searching or investigating people. As users share a wide variety of information on social networking sites, concerns are growing about organisations’ access to personally identifiable data and users are increasingly worried about privacy on social network sites. The main threat with data gathering is not only from where gathering it, but also where it goes afterwards. Neither social network sites providers nor the governments have any way to effectively protect users against privacy violations. However, a variety of efforts need to be explored to change the situation. Social network sites should continue work to strengthen privacy settings. Laws and policies should be improved to regulate the social networking searching in its legality, necessity and proportionality.     

Managing privacy boundaries together: Exploring individual and group privacy management strategies in Facebook

Most research on privacy management within the context of social network sites (SNSs) treats users as individual owners of private information. Privacy, however, is beyond individual control and is also managed on a group level. This study applies the Communication Privacy Management theory (CPM) to explore the individual and group privacy management strategies in Facebook. We present a survey completed by 900 members of a youth organization regarding their online behaviors and membership. We found that women are more likely to employ individual privacy management strategies, while men are more likely to employ group privacy management strategies. For group privacy management, we found common bond and the role an individual is attributed within the youth organization to be the strongest predictors. The results generated from this study are a first but important step to illustrate the differences and similarities between individual and group privacy management. We argue that it is necessary to further study and understand group privacy to better approach users’ privacy needs.     

Interplay between trust,information privacy concerns and behavioural intention of users on online social networks

Trust and privacy features of websites have evolved as an important concern for any businesses or interactions, particularly in online networks. The study investigates the relationship between trust, privacy concerns and behavioural intention of users on the social network. The behavioural intention of users on the online social network (OSN) is captured by intention to disclose information and intention to interact with others in OSN. The study was conducted on a sample of 457 active users from one of the major social networking website, Facebook. Partial least squares based structural equation modelling was used for analysing the results. The findings of the study reveal that intention to disclose information mediates the relationship between trust in the website and the intention to interact with others. Another important finding of the study indicates that prior positive experience with the website significantly impacts the trust in website, and the trust in website also plays a crucial role while determining the information privacy concerns in the OSN.     

Solving the privacy paradox: A counter-argument experimental approach

This study investigates why ordinary online users highly concerned about the misuse of personal information do not adopt privacy-protective behaviors, or even engage in risky behaviors, on the Internet. Given that people have few chances to directly experience privacy infringement and tend to be unfamiliar with technical terms, their opinions as reflected in conventional polls tend to be instantaneous reactions to survey questionnaires, lacking thoughtfulness. By adopting a counterargument experimental technique, this study produced three important findings: (1) people’s opinions about online privacy are swayed after being presented with a message containing a counterargument; (2) this persuasion effect is pronounced among people with a low level of online knowledge or who assess the presented message’s argument as strong; and (3) the privacy paradox is found in conventional polls but disappears in counterargument conditions. These findings imply that opinions concerning online privacy should not be estimated through conventional polling. Rather, alternative polls (e.g., deliberative polls) should be adopted for online privacy policy-making.     

The deep structure of organizational online networking – an actor‐oriented case study

While research on organizational online networking recently increased significantly, most studies adopt quantitative research designs with a focus on the consequences of social network configurations. Very limited attention is paid to comprehensive theoretical conceptions of the complex phenomenon of organizational online networking. We address this gap by adopting a theoretical framework of the deep structure of organizational online networking with a focus on their emerging meaning for the employees. We apply and assess the framework in a qualitative case study of a large‐scale implementation of a corporate social network site (SNS) in a global organization. We reveal organizational online networking as a multi‐dimensional phenomenon with multiplex relationships that are unbalanced, primarily consist of weak ties and are subject to temporal change. Further, we identify discourse drivers and information retrievers as two mutually interdependent actor roles as an explanation for uneven levels of user contributions to the SNS. Based on our analysis, we elicit abstract order principles, such as topical discourses, and identify transactive memory theory as a potent explanation of the evolving interaction structures. We finally discuss how the deep structure framework can contribute to future research on organizational networks.     

Perceived social support moderates the relationships between variables in the social cognition model

Posting behaviour on social networking sites (SNS) has become a method enabling unsatisfied users to vent emotions. Based on social cognition theory (SCT), personal outcome expectations and self-efficacy affect posting behaviour for venting emotions on SNS. However, perceived social support (PSS) may alter the relationships within the SCT model. Thus, this study aimed to explore the moderating effect of PSS on the relationships between variables in the SCT model for venting emotions on SNS. In total, 310 unsatisfied customers in Taiwan were investigated, and structural equation modelling was performed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that personal outcome expectations and self-efficacy were positively associated with posting behaviour which, in turn, increased venting emotions on SNS. Moreover, PSS moderated the relationships between variables in the SCT model.     

Affect,cognition and reward: Predictors of privacy protection online

This article examined the interplay between cognition and affect in Internet uses for privacy control. A survey of a national sample was conducted to empirically test the relationship between affective concern for and cognitive knowledge of information privacy online. We also tested for the interactive role of reward-seeking as a moderator among these relationships. Findings revealed that concern did not directly play a meaningful role in guiding users’ protective behavior, whereas knowledge was found significant in moderating the role of concern. The interactive role of reward-seeking seems particularly salient in shaping the structure of the relationships. These findings suggest that the intersections between knowledge, reward, and concern can play out differently, depending on the levels of each. Policy implications in relation to users’ cognitive, affective, and reward-seeking rationalities are offered, and future research considerations are discussed.     

Students and social networking sites: the posting paradox

This article reports the results of a field study in which undergraduate students were questioned about their use of social networking sites and the appropriateness of the content that they post. The responses indicate that students routinely post content that they realise is not appropriate for all audiences, especially potential employers. Considering how extensively the press has covered the negative impacts of inappropriate posting, the fact that students are knowingly continuing the practice is surprising. The article discusses the implications of these results and proposes areas for future research.     

Health information privacy concerns,antecedents, and information disclosure intention in online health communities

This study explores the antecedents and consequences of health information privacy concerns in online health communities by integrating the dual calculus and protection motivation theories. On the basis of survey data from 337 users, health information privacy concerns, together with informational and emotional support, significantly influence personal health information (PHI) disclosure intention. Privacy concerns are negatively influenced by two coping appraisals (i.e., response efficacy and self-efficacy) and positively affected by two threat appraisals (i.e., perceived vulnerability and perceived severity). The perceived health status differentially moderates the effects of privacy concerns and informational support on the PHI disclosure intention.     

Understanding online behavioural advertising: User knowledge,privacy concerns and online coping behaviour in Europe

Online behavioural advertising (OBA) is a special form of targeted advertising. For OBA, it is necessary to collect data about online surfing behaviour, which is usually undertaken by installing ‘cookies’. The use of cookies is heavily debated by policy makers in the US and Europe. Central to this discussion is whether users should provide informed consent prior to the installation of cookies. However, to provide informed consent, it is vital that website users understand the mechanisms of OBA and cookies. This study investigates whether the existing knowledge is sufficient, whether website users are concerned about their privacy, and how they cope with OBA, cookies and the requested informed consent. An online questionnaire (N = 2022) was fielded briefly after new European cookie regulations were enacted. The results confirmed that the knowledge is still insufficient to obtain good understanding of this new advertising technique. In addition, the results showed that groups of Internet users did not differ in terms of knowledge, although they did differ in terms of privacy concerns. A comparison of privacy-concerned groups showed that a dual approach is needed in communicating about OBA, not only to inform but also to reduce worries, especially in older and less-educated groups.     

Exploring the relationship between perceptions of social capital and enacted support online

Online social networking sites enable users to connect with large, heterogeneous groups of people. While extant research suggests individuals benefit psychologically from the perception that they are well connected, little is known about the nature of tangible resources embedded in these online networks. In this study 49 participants sent 588 requests for instrumental help to their Facebook friends to determine the accessibility of networked resources and online social capital. Almost 80% of these modest requests went unanswered, and perceived bridging and bonding capital did not explain enacted support. However, people who occupied socially prestigious positions were the most likely to benefit from their friend's help. These results suggest that expansive mediated networks may yield limited instrumental benefits.     

A mixed method approach to examining Facebook use and its relationship to self-esteem

The current study examined the relationship between self-esteem and Facebook use in sample of college-age participants (N = 201). Online methods were used to collect data. Consistent with the social compensation hypothesis, results indicate that self-esteem level was related to engaging in different on-line behaviors. For example, lower self-esteem was associated with feelings of connectedness to Facebook, more frequently untagging oneself in photos, and accepting friend requests from individuals that one does not know well. Qualitative analyses indicated that individuals with higher self-esteem were more likely to report that a positive aspect of Facebook was the ability to share pictures, thoughts, and ideas, and to report that other posts could become annoying or bothersome.     

Explaining the link between technostress and technology addiction for social networking sites: A study of distraction as a coping behavior

This paper investigates under what conditions stress from the use of SNS is linked to addiction to the use of the same SNS. Integrating three theoretical strands—the concept of feature‐rich Information Technology (IT), the theory of technology frames, and distraction as a coping behaviour—we theorize two types of coping behaviours in response to stressors experienced from the use of SNS. These are ‐ distraction through use of the same SNS and distraction through activities outside the use of the SNS. We hypothesize relationships between stressors from SNS use, the two coping behaviours and SNS addiction. We further articulate the role of SNS use habit. We test the hypotheses through a three‐wave survey of 444 Facebook users with data collected at three different points in time. The paper's contributions are to theorize and empirically validate the psychological concept of distraction as a coping behaviour in response to stress from the use of SNS and, in doing so, explain why there may be a link between technostress from and technology addiction to the use of the same SNS.     

简述AppFabric访问控制服务的实现

随着社交网站的兴起,人们日益关注如何让用户从这类媒介访问应用程序。ACS可作为的应用程序与用户之间的中介负责处理有关将每个IP与适当的协议相结合的低层细节,从而使的应用程序不必考虑每个事务类型的细节,将解决方案中的身份验证外包给ACS。     

The flipside of ubiquitous connectivity enabled by smartphone-based social networking service: Social presence and privacy concern

The spread of smartphones triggers the universal use of smartphone-based social networking services (SNS) by satisfying users' needs for maintaining seamless, constant connection and developing intimate relationships with others, such as family, friends, and acquaintances. Under the circumstances, this study examines the consequences of ubiquitous connectivity, considering that it is a typical characteristic of mobile technologies. More specifically, this study addresses both sides of ubiquitous connectivity due to smartphone-based SNS namely, social presence and privacy concern. Furthermore, the study verifies the role of enjoyment which has been argued as a key determinant of the continued use of hedonic IS. The results show that first, ubiquitous connectivity increases social presence and privacy concern simultaneously. Second, enjoyment derives from not only ubiquitous connectivity but also social presence and privacy concern. Finally, smartphone-based SNS continuance intention is determined by enjoyment, social presence, and privacy concern. Discussion and implications on the results are presented.