A Proactive Generation Reacts: Privacy, Disclosure and Strategic Action on Facebook

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A Proactive Generation Reacts Privacy,
Disclosure and Strategic Action on Facebook
By Zeynep Tufekci Assistant Professor University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Twitter
_at_techsoc zeynep_at_unc.edu
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Reality versus Perception

• A loony, narcissistic generation inexplicably
  oversharing just because theyre different
• Facebook merely reflecting those changes
• Numerous assertions by Facebook executives that
  one identity, one social graph is better,
  moral, normal

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Privacy and Disclosure are

• Historically-situated
• Grounded by personal circumstances, identit(ies),
  context
• Structured and played out through architecture,
  norms and affordances
• Always include strategic action considerations

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Popular Perception
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Background

• Facebook is a de facto norm among college
  students
• Facebook architecturally leans towards disclosure
  and a united social graph
• Facebook has made multiple privacy changes, often
  controversial
• Disclosure levels tend to be high

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What We Know

• Contrary to media perceptions, are struggling to
  adapt and figure out
• Documenting struggle, strategy and change Boyd
  Hargittai (2010), Stutzman (2011), RaynesGoldie,
  Kate (2010), Pew (2010)

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Strategies Experiences Questions

• How have young adult behaviors have changed over
  time?
• What are their experiences with privacy and
  disclosure?
• What are their strategies?
• Can we untangle experience (i.e. Banduras social
  learning theory) and anticipatory behaviors?

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This Study

• College student sample
• Latest survey December 2010 (n403)
• Historical surveys on comparable (but not
  longitudinal) groups since 2006 (ngt1000)
• m
• Diverse, mid-sized school, socio-economic range,
  sample generally representative of school

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Sample Characteristics
N () N ()
Male 53.3
Female 45.6

White 43.0
Black 17.5
Hisp./Other 13.0
Asian-Ame. 26.5
MEAN
General Privacy Concern (1-5) 4.06
MEAN
Years on FB 3.58
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Sample Descriptives
EVER USE FACEBOOK FOR (1-4)
Keep in touch with friends in same school 3.1
Keep in touch with friends elsewhere 3.4
To find people with similar interests 1.5
To find potential friends 1.8
How concerned are you that people you do not want to see your profile would see your profile (1-5) 3.3
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EVER DONE THE FOLLOWING BECAUSE OF A PRIVACY OR VISIBILITY CONCERN?
Untagged themselves from a photo 73.9
Deleted info from profile 81.3
Unfriend someone 68.3
Deactivate their profile 19.6
Those who have
Never changed privacy settings 9.4
Changed their privacy settings last month 36.7
Changed their privacy settings in the last year 82.9
Of those who changed ever privacy settings (n363)
Those whose last change was to make their profile LESS visible 90.3
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Sample Descriptives
Did the Following Happen to YOU? AT LEAST ONCE
Lost a job 0.8
Did not get hired 0.5
Had issues at work 2.5
Had a fight with a girlfriend/boyfriend 28.7
Broke up with a girlfriend/boyfriend 8.0
Had a fight with a friend 25.7
Had a fight with a parent 17.2
Had a legal problem 0.8
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Did the Following Happen to SOMEONE YOU KNOW? AT LEAST ONCE
Lost a job 19.7
Did not get hired 19.4
Had issues at work 30.8
Had a fight with a girlfriend/boyfriend 70.9
Broke up with a girlfriend/boyfriend 51.2
Had a fight with a friend 66.2
Had a fight with a parent 53.2
Had a legal problem 21.9
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Did Any of the Following Happen to You? () AT LEAST ONCE
Someone you did not want found your profile 73.9
Other people posted pictures of you that you wish they had not 70.0
Someone else got upset with you seeing a picture of you with someone else 25.7
You got upset with someone after seeing a picture of theirs with someone else 39.8
Someone harassed/stalked you online 33.6
Someone much older contacted you 54.6
You found out something very important about a friend 77.8
You found that someone else had been lying to you by looking at their profile 59.6
You got caught in a lie by someone else through your profile 32.5
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Changes in Profile Visibility in Facebook
2006-2010 (December)
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Privacy Concerns and Profile Visibility in
Facebook 2006-2010 (December)
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Logistic Regression Modeling Odds of Privacy
Related Behaviors
Less Visible Last Month Never Changed
Public Profile
exp(b) exp(b) exp(b) exp(b)
Female 1.583 1.732
0.611 0.255 Black 1.032
0.684 0.428 1.232
Hisp/Other 0.693 0.929
1.828 1.192 Asian 0.676
0.934 0.680 1.861 Happened
to me 0.988 0.980 1.044
1.016 I observed 1.099 1.023
1.079 1.085 Surveillance
1.049 1.004 0.754 0.937
Far friends 1.181 1.165
0.824 0.925 Near friends 0.892
1.538 1.186 0.907 Find
potential 1.002 1.283 0.740
1.031 Find similar 0.679 0.761
1.801 1.337 Audience Concern
1.671 1.791 0.624
0.375 Years on FB 1.364 1.047
0.803 0.773 _cons
0.097 0.008 22.286 8.462 N
383 383 383
383 ll -162.272
223.213 -97.021 -104.967
plt0.05, plt0.01, plt0.001
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The Previous Table Says

• Respondents concern over unwanted audiences IS
  significantly associated with privacy-preserving
  actions
• Respondents experience with or observations of
  negative consequences is NOT strongly associated
  with privacy related actions

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Logistic Regression Modeling Odds of Accepting
Friend Request from Person already known / not
known
Know Dont Know exp(b)
exp(b) Female -0.098
-0.141 Black 0.100
0.129 Hisp/Other 0.209
-0.021 Asian 0.243
0.145 Someone else -0.007
-0.003 Me 0.015
-0.032 Surveillance 0.010
0.036 Far friends -0.023
0.104 Near friends 0.017
-0.026 Find potential 0.039
0.156 Find similar 0.029
0.138 Profile concern -0.033
-0.164 Years on FB 0.005
-0.015 _cons 3.219
1.494 N 381
381 ll -365.679 -420.871
plt0.05, plt0.01, plt0.001
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The Previous Table Says When it Comes to
Accepting Friend Request from Unknown Person

• Respondents who are interested in finding
  similar people and expanding their networks more
  likely
• Respondents concerned about unwanted audiences
  less likely

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Logistic Regression Modeling Odds of Using a
Nickname of Facebook
Nickname
exp(b) Female 0.527 Black
2.810 Hisp/Other 0.951
Asian 1.194 Someone else
0.929 Me 1.081
Surveillance 1.021 Far friends
0.920 Near friends 1.020 Find
potential 1.386 Find similar 0.798
Profile concern 1.196 Years on FB
1.101 _cons 0.031 N
383 ll
-103.802 plt0.05, plt0.01, plt0.001
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The Previous Table Says For Nicknames

• African-Americans almost three times the odds of
  using a nickname on Facebook
• Descriptive in 2006-7, about 94 used nicknames,
  in 2010 December about 90
• Also, only 3.5 use multiple profiles on Facebook

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Not Shown

• Interaction with near friends has higher
  association with untagging and deleting
  information (suggests strategic action)
• Disclosure levels have gone down from 06-07 but
  are still relatively high
• Romantic status disclosure also linked to privacy
  related issues (esp. unwanted audiences)

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Conclusion

• Facebook remains a dominant platform and a strong
  social norm in College
• Young adults in college are adapting and changing
  their behaviors on Facebook
• Privacy related behaviors are associated with
  pro-active (concerns) rather than re-active
  (personal incidents or observations)
  considerations
• Privacy/disclosure actions have a strong
  strategic component.

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Instead Strategic disclosure
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Instead Cost/benefit analysis
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Instead Impression Management
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Instead Adaptation and Change
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Thank you! Questions?
By Zeynep Tufekci Assistant Professor University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Twitter
_at_techsoc zeynep_at_unc.edu