| Comparatively optimistic people think that they are less susceptible to risks than others, and that sense of invulnerability may lead them to engage in risky behaviors. This study investigated antecedents (perceived control, prior negative privacy experiences by self or others, SNS usage, and privacy concern) and outcomes (information disclosure, use of privacy protection strategies, and profile visibility) of comparative optimism about privacy risks on social networking sites (SNSs). Results from a nationally representative survey of Facebook users in the U.S. show that users are comparatively optimistic, believing that they are less susceptible to privacy risks than are average users. However, unlike prior findings from offline contexts, comparatively optimistic SNS users do not engage in riskier privacy behaviors. This study also sheds light on the concept of users' sense of 'networked privacy,' which is the notion that privacy in networked environments is affected by actions of both self and others (e.g., tagging). Results of this study confirm that on SNSs, users' privacy perceptions are affected by how they perceive their own risk, as well as others' risk of having a negative privacy experience. |
