Authors:
Martina Ziefle
;
Julian Halbey
and
Sylvia Kowalewski
Affiliation:
RWTH-Aachen University, Germany
Keyword(s):
Internet, Social Network Sites, Perceived Privacy, Willingness to Share Data, Trust, Gender, Conjoint Study.
Abstract:
One of the major challenges of the ongoing digitalization and the ubiquitous usage of pervasive computing in
all fields of our lives is to steer a sensible balance between benefits and drawbacks of using the Internet and
to implement an appropriate data handling when using digital media. The broad availability of data, in line
with the enormous velocity of information retrieval, is open to abuse and malpractice, with privacy threats as
the most serious barrier. The consumers and their attitudes and behaviors when using the Internet play an
important role in the discussion about privacy protection. The aim of the current study was to analyze Internet
usage behaviors and users’ willingness to share their data when using digital services and social network sites.
In a two step empirical approach, we first explore users’ perceptions of privacy in the context of Internet usage
and social network sites by means of a focus group approach. In a second step, a quantitative study was carried
o
ut. Using a conjoint measurement approach, user scenarios were created from combinations of different
levels of anonymization extent, data type, and benefits from sharing the data. The respondents’ task was to
decide under which conditions they would be willing to share their data. 80 volunteers (50,6% women)
between 14 and 60 years of age participated in the conjoint study.
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