Nothing to hide, nothing to lose? Incentives and disincentives to sharing information with institutions online
What incentives and disincentives do Internet users weigh as they consider providing information to institutional actors such as government agencies and corporations online? Focus group participants list several benefits to sharing information including convenience, access to information,
personalization, financial incentives, and more accurate health information, but also recognize that not all sharing may be in their interest. Disincentives to sharing include skepticism, distrust, and fears of discrimination. Decisions about sharing are related to the information type,
the context in which information is revealed, and the institution to which they are – or think they are – providing information. Significantly, many participants were mistrustful of both governmental and corporate actors. Participants displayed awareness of privacy
risks, but frequently mischaracterized the extent to which information could be aggregated and mined. They displayed resignation towards privacy violations, suggesting that they perceived little control over their ability to protect their privacy, which may influence their privacy behaviors.
This calls into question the privacy calculus, as individuals misunderstand the risks of their information provision and do not believe opting out of information-sharing is possible.
Keywords: Information provision; institutional privacy; privacy calculus; privacy paradox
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Communication, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 2: IKMZ, Institute of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Publication date: 15 October 2019
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