Social Media - The Fourth Annual Transforming Audiences Conference. University of Westminister September 2-3 2013

Privacy and SNS: generational differences in

managing privacy and disclosure

Nicoletta Vittadini

Premises

“"the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others” (Westin, 1967, p. 7).

“The right to an inviolate personality” Warren & Brandeis 1890).

The right of the “immunity from the judgment of others’” for some aspects of a person’s life (Johnson 1992: 272)

The right to define and manage the hiding and disclosure of personal informations according to the audience (Altman 1975). Privacy is ‘what’s left after one subtracts…the monitored (ndr through SNS profiles), and the searchable, from the balance of social life’. (Lessig 1998)

Premises

The concept and the meaning of privacy changes according with different cultures (and peer cultures) (Dourish & Anderson 2006, Lewis 2008)

Which contents are “private”?

Which kind of space is Facebook? Which benefit do I have using it?

Users behaviours “balance” privacy and benefit of using Facebook

Premises

“Audiences”: public or private profiles (Stutzman e Duffield 2010)

“Contents”: who can access a specific content (“friends lists”)

“Sharing”: who can “use” personal contents

“Context collapse”” (boyd 2008). “While social convergence allows information to be spread more efficiently, this is not always what people desire. ..control is lost with social convergence”

A question

- Cultural unit: “a cohort of persons passing through time who come to share a common habitus, hexis and culture” (Eyerman and Turner 1998, 93).

- The management of disclosure and revelation of personal information acquire 8especially in SNS) the status of a collective ritual contribute in building, the so-called “we sense” of generations.

Does “generational belonging” affect users behaviours regarding privacy?

Empirical remarks

- 120 qualitative interviews in Italy - People from 13 to 54 years old - Topic: Online social relations and identity: Italian experience

in Social Network Sites

- Preliminary analysis of respondents living in Milan

General remarks

Facebook

user

user

user

Other companies

informational privacy (DeCew 1997). Protection of personal informations regarding everyday activities, economic status and lifestyle.

User User

User User

expressive privacy (Tufekci 2008) Protection of the process of personal identity building from third party’s interference. Control over information shared about oneself (self reputation online)

General remarks

What is “private”?

Feelings. Expecially negative feelings (as sadness)

Personal data and informations (religion, political orientation)

General remarks

How can I manage it?

Contents I don’t post about ….; I don’t tag; I don’t geotag

Networks I build my network in order to express what I want on facebook

Facebook is a public space Facebook is a (crowded) party

Generations

Generations (in Italy)

Younger boomers “facebook is a public space”

Privacy is managed “ex ante”: • Some contents are off topic

• negative feelings as sadness are off topic

• political orientation and personal tastes are on topic

• Some people are off network • colleagues

Isn’t a real concern: I do not have the nightmare to be controlled and I have no reason to worry if someone controls me (m 45-54). I'm not posting personal things except the photos of my nephew’s birthday. If someone uses that picture what should I do ? (f 45-54)

• “friends lists” are used in a very simple way and only for specific media as photos

• chat as a more intimate space isn’t used

• tagging and geolocalization are used and not controlled (very low literacy)

Generation X “Facebook is an entertainment”

Is a question of “identity” control: I found a conversation with a picture of me that has nothing to do with me ... I do not like that I can’t control it ... I have little chance to resize

things ...(f 35-44) The control over one’s identity is “ex post” excluding people who don’t respect the right of an “expressive privacy”

Privacy is managed through: • Contents:

• Self-coherence "You decide what you post ... my account ... is very consistent with me "(35-44 m)

• Emotions and personal feelings are off topic

• Political orientation and personal tastes and Everydaylife’s tale (also through photos) are on topic

• Networks • Colleagues are off network

• “friends lists” are perceived as annoying and redundant

• chat as a more intimate space isn’t used

• Tagging is used and allowed in some cases after approvation

• Geotagging is perceived as intrusive and a form of social-control and not allowed

Generation Y “My life is on Facebook”

Is a question of “context collapse” (especially about photos) I have a lot of photo album and there are a lot of information about me. There is a part of post very personal. So sometimes I read them and think they are too personal. I set the privacy and block them (f 25-34)

• “friends lists” are used • chat as a more intimate

space is sometimes used • Tagging is controlled, used

according to the “unwritten rules of the peer group” and allowed after approvation

• Geotagging is used but perceived as dangerous

Privacy is managed through: • Networks

• Management of the content’s accessibility • “Generational networks ”facebook belongs to our

generation” (f 25-34) • Contents:

• Emotions (negative) and political orientation are off topic

• Photos are “under control” • Unwritten rules of the peer group

• Selective tagging according to the preferences of friends

• Post with underlying meanings which can be understood only by friends

Generation Z “Facebook is an expressive tool”

Is a question of a gradient of intimacy If one don’t want to let everybody know something, he can write it in chat (f 13-18) If I have to maintain a relationship I do it in private messages or chat (f. 19-24)

Privacy is managed through: • Basic tools:

• Public or “only friends” profile • Chat vs post

• “Ex post” activities • Deleting photos, tags, contents

and comments which aren’t coherent with one’s public image

• Complicity • Sharing and posting contents with

underlying meanings

• “friends lists” arent used • chat as a more intimate space is

the privacy tools • Tagging is controlled, used

according to the “unwritten rules of the peer group” and allowed after approvation

• Geotagging is perceived as dangerous but used

Conclusive remarks

Early boomers

Media as a public space

Privacy: social control

Illiteracy

Generation X

Media as an entertainment

space

Privacy: identity consistence

Partial literacy

Generation Y

Media as a social spce

Privacy: context collapse control

Relevance of the unwritten rules of

the network

Stratification of “communication

styles”

Generation Z

Media as a performative

space

Privacy: control of different levels of

self expression

Stratification of “communication

styles”

Conclusive remarks

Control is a paradox

The paradox arises when control over the publication of information (deciding what to publish, when and to whom make it visible)

saturates the need to protect data and makes less compelling and meaningful monitoring

them.

Friend’s lists are “annoying”

Managing friend’s lists clashes with the complexity of social relations . ”There is …tension between the desire for reliable

control over their information and the desire for social interaction unplanned"

(Grimmelmann, 2008)

Except for Gen

X

Conclusive remarks

Unwritten rules

(Peers network

Generational networks)

Software tools

Privacy is social: “social privacy” means that “once private information is disclosed or others are granted access, the information moves from individual ownership to collective ownership. the original owner and co-owners coordinate the management of information” (Child e Petronio, 2011)

Conclusive remarks

Privacy is a balance between: - The benefit and the pelasure to share informations (disclosure) - The control over personal informations (privacy)

Early Boomers: public discussion about personal interests

Generation X: the “edonic” dimension of building identity tales

Generation Y : the benefit of sociality

Generation Z: the benefit of self expression and performativity

22-05-2013

Thank you!

Nicoletta Vittadini

nicoletta.vittadini@unicatt.it

@nicovitt