“All my mates have got it, so it must be okay”: Constructing a richer understanding of privacy concerns—An exploratory focus group study

Abstract

The measurement of peoples privacy concern has traditionally focused on their general level of privacy concern (e.g. Westin), or on organisations information handling practices (e.g. CFIP and IUIPC). A richer approach to the construction of peoples privacy concerns is proposed in which the level of an individuals privacy concern about atechnology serviceconsisting of a technology platform and providing organisationis constructed from: (1) their innate level of privacy concern; (2) absence, or inadequate implementation, of the attributes of a technology service the individual considers important (e.g. online security mechanisms, privacy policy, etc.); and (3) environmental cues (e.g. friends advice and experiences, media stories, etc.). As the first step in developing this paradigm, an exploratory study was undertaken to investigate the technology service attributes and environmental cues people seek out. Using focus groups and an online survey, the results show: (1) the validity of the informational self-determination paradigm; (2) consistency in the environmental cues and technology service attributes individuals look for; and (3) evidence to support a relationship between certain attributes of an individual (e.g. educational level, computer experience, etc.), their attitude to privacy and technology, and the technology service attributes and environmental cues they consider important.