Personal information sharing behaviors of college students via the Internet and online social networks: A case study

With privacy concerns growing on a daily basis, it is important to understand how college students guard their personally identifiable information. Despite the students' perceived readiness and several studies on the topic, it is not fully understood what personally identifiable information college students are sharing via online social networks and on the Internet. This applied field study used a survey to collect data on college students at Frostburg State University with regard to how they share their personally identifiable information. The study then examined the amount of personally identifiable information Frostburg State University students shared based on a variety of factors such as if the students owned a particular technology, their college GPA, and their sex. Despite the possible consequences of sharing personally identifiable information, such as identity thief or cyber-stalking, this study discovered that the University students shared an alarming amount of information about themselves. College students should be aware of the amount of personally identifiable information that they are sharing on online social networks and the Internet. Exploring the type and amount of personally identifiable information that Frostburg State University college students reveal via online social networks and on the Internet enabled the researcher to create a pseudo-profile of the University student that shared personally identifiable information.