Work

Exploring Motivations for Online Privacy Protection Behavior: Insights From Panel Data

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Personally managing and protecting online privacy has become an essential part of everyday life. This research draws on the protection motivation theory (PMT) to investigate privacy protective behavior online. A two-wave panel study ( N = 928) shows that (1) people rarely to occasionally protect their online privacy and (2) people most often delete cookies and browser history or decline cookies to protect their online privacy. In addition, (3) the perceived threat is high: People perceive the collection, usage, and sharing of personal information as a severe problem to which they are susceptible. The coping appraisal is mixed: Although people do have confidence in some protective measures, they have little confidence in their own efficacy to protect their online privacy. Moreover, privacy protective behavior is affected by perceived severity and response efficacy. These findings emphasize the relevance of the PMT in the context of privacy threats, and have important implications for regulators.

Source: Communication Research

DOI: 10.1177/0093650218800915

Authors: Sophie C. Boerman, Sanne Kruikemeier, Frederik J. Zuiderveen Borgesius

Institution: University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Privacy, Security, and Data Protection

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900