Facebook: Where Privacy Concerns and Social Needs Collide
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Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 2020 Facebook: Where privacy concerns and social needs collide Sonya Scherini Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Social Media Commons Recommended Citation Scherini, S. (2020). Facebook: Where privacy concerns and social needs collide. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ theses/2331 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2331 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. 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Facebook: Where privacy concerns and social needs collide This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sonya Scherini School of Arts & Humanities Edith Cowan University 2020 ABSTRACT Facebook is an integral part of today’s social landscape, but Facebook use involves compromising one’s privacy in relation to other users and to the Facebook corporation and its affiliated businesses. This analysis explores respondents’ reasons for using Facebook together with their Facebook-related privacy concerns, and how these factors influence self-disclosures and privacy management strategies on the site. Also explored are respondents’ perceptions both of what the Facebook corporation ‘knows’ about them and with whom it shares their data. The research is based on the concepts of user-user and user-corporate privacy concerns versus the social needs of self-portrayal and belonging. Self-portrayal (inspired by Friedlander, 2011) is explored in the contexts of both strategic self-presentation and expression of the true self, and belonging is explored in the contexts of both intimacy and affiliation. These concepts have been drawn from a combination of psychological theories together with existing research on privacy concerns and social needs on social networking sites. Respondents completed an online questionnaire over a six week period from late August to early October 2014, and a focus group was held in November 2014. The questionnaire was largely quantitative but allowed for qualitative input via text boxes. There were 404 completed and valid responses, and of the demographic factors tested, gender was most strongly associated with Facebook-related privacy concerns and age was most strongly associated with reasons for using Facebook. Respondents indicated a clash between fulfilling their social needs on Facebook and their privacy concerns on the site. However, these concerns did not, for the most part, stop them using Facebook, although in certain instances respondents employed tactics to minimise their privacy concerns. This thesis argues that, when using Facebook, respondents resolved the privacy paradox to the best of their ability. It is anticipated that the findings of this thesis will contribute to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the benefits and drawbacks of social media use. ii DECLARATION I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief: (i) incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institute of higher education; (ii) contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; or (iii) contain any defamatory material Sonya Scherini 30.11.2019 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to my supervisors Dr Ann-Claire Larsen and Associate Professor Margaret Giles for your support, suggestions, and patience. Thanks also to Professor Craig Standing, Dr Helen Cripps, and Professor Anne Wallace for your early input. Finally, I would like to thank those who completed the surveys and participated in the focus group. Without you, there would be no thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TERMS................................................................................................................................................xii 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Privacy concerns versus social needs on Facebook................................................................................1 1.2 Facebook in context...............................................................................................................................9 2. BACKGROUND – PRIVACY CONCERNS.........................................................................................................18 2.1 Definition of privacy.............................................................................................................................18 2.2 Privacy taxonomies..............................................................................................................................18 2.3 Privacy paradox and privacy calculus...................................................................................................19 2.4 Contextual integrity.............................................................................................................................20 2.5 The non-neutrality of web technology.................................................................................................20 2.6 Facebook’s history of privacy controversies.........................................................................................21 2.6.1 News Feed (2006)........................................................................................................................21 2.6.2 Beacon (2007)..............................................................................................................................22 2.6.3 Tag Suggestions (2010)................................................................................................................22 2.6.4 Timeline (2011)............................................................................................................................22 2.6.5 Graph Search (2013)....................................................................................................................23 2.6.6 Europe versus Facebook (2013)...................................................................................................23 2.6.7 Emotional contagion study (2014)...............................................................................................25 2.6.8 Cambridge Analytica (2016).........................................................................................................26 2.7 Privacy concerns on Facebook.............................................................................................................26 2.7.1 User-user privacy concerns..........................................................................................................27 2.7.2 User-corporate privacy concerns.................................................................................................30 2.8 Suggested approaches to privacy issues on Facebook.........................................................................33 3. BACKGROUND – SOCIAL NEEDS..................................................................................................................37 3.1 Humanism, motivation, and needs......................................................................................................39 3.2 Concepts related to self-portrayal.......................................................................................................43 3.2.1 True self.......................................................................................................................................43 3.2.2 Ideal, ought, and actual selves.....................................................................................................44 3.2.3 Self-concept and multiple selves.................................................................................................44 3.2.4 Strategic self-presentation...........................................................................................................45 3.2.5 Narcissism and the need for popularity.......................................................................................46 3.3 Concepts related to belonging.............................................................................................................47 3.3.1 Social support..............................................................................................................................47