Disclosing or protecting? Teenagers' online self-disclosure

Abstract

How do teenagers react when marketeers request personal data online? This is the central question of a survey conducted among 1,318 Belgian 12-18 year-olds. The present study reveals that despite a sceptical attitude towards online data collecting practices, teenagers are still prepared to disclose much personal information. The study discerns two categories of personal information: contact data and profile data. The relationship between online data disclosure on the one hand and privacy concerns and parental involvement on the other hand was examined. ICT-use and sociodemographic variables were included as control variables. Regression outcomes show a negative relation between youngsters' level of privacy concern and their willingness to provide personal data. Teenagers cosurfing with their parents and having restrictions on their Internet use, were less inclined to disclose contact data. Whereas no significant age differences were found in data disclosure, this study did find that girls are less inclined to disclose contact data than boys, but at the same time disclose relatively more profile data. Implications for education and public policies are discussed. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.