Privacy Literacy on Social Media: Its Predictors and Outcomes

Abstract

This study focuses on privacy literacy on social media with respect to how it functions as a marker for reflecting and alleviating the privacy divide. In doing so, the paper investigates the influence of objective measures such as characteristics of user populations (e.g., ethnicity, gender, and privacy experience) on the degree of privacy literacy on social media. Then it examines processes by which privacy literacy influences advanced privacy practices (privacy rule application and adaptation) through the perceived technology usability and information co-ownership. A structural equation model is proposed to test the hypotheses. Results show that ethnicity does not significantly impact privacy literacy, but gender does: more women than men are privacy literate. Experiences with privacy features are found to increase privacy literacy. Findings show a mediated effect of perceived usability of technology on the association between privacy literacy and privacy rule application. Another outcome of privacy literacy, perceived information co-ownership, was proposed to mediate the association between privacy literacy and privacy rule adaptation, and the prediction is supported. The final model, with added paths based on modification indices, suggests the following: a direct positive impact of gender (women) on the perceived usability of technology and information co-ownership, a direct negative impact of ethnicity (Asian) on the adaptation of privacy rules, and a direct positive path from experiences with privacy features to perceived information co-ownership. The study viewed privacy literacy on social media as an indicator of hardwired divide in technology use. This perspective of privacy literacy then functions to expand the contextual understanding of the role of privacy literacy in explaining advanced privacy practices.