SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

March 7, 2013 by Gary Price

New Study From Carnegie Mellon University: Despite Efforts To Protect Privacy, Facebook Users Increase Amount of Personal Information Available Online

March 7, 2013 by Gary Price

From Carneige Mellon University: 

A seven-year Carnegie Mellon University study of Facebook has found evidence of three contrasting trends in the amount of information Facebook users disclosed over time: decreasing public disclosures; abrupt changes in disclosure due to interface and policy changes;  and increasing private disclosures.
The 2005-2011 study, which appears in The Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality is the first longitudinal study to document how privacy and disclosure evolve on social network sites over an extended period of time. Researchers found that from 2005-2009, Facebook users displayed more privacy-seeking behavior, progressively decreasing the amount of personal data shared with the public.
This trend abruptly reversed between 2009 and 2010, when changes implemented by Facebook, such as modifications to its user interface and default settings, led to a significant increase in the public sharing of various types of personal information. The study also found that, over time, the amount and scope of personal information that Facebook users revealed to their Facebook “friends” actually increased. As a result, users ended up increasing their personal disclosures to other entities on the network, sometimes unknowingly, including to “silent listeners” such as Facebook itself, third-party apps and advertisers.

From the Abstract:

Our analysis highlights three contrasting trends. First, over time Facebook users in our dataset exhibited increasingly privacy-seeking behavior, progressively decreasing the amount of personal data shared publicly with unconnected profiles in the same network. However, and second, changes implemented by Facebook near the end of the period of time under our observation arrested or in some cases inverted that trend. Third, the amount and scope of personal information that Facebook users revealed privately to other connected profiles actually increased over time—and because of that, so did disclosures to “silent listeners” on the network: Facebook itself, third-party apps, and (indirectly) advertisers. These findings highlight the tension between privacy choices as expressions of individual subjective preferences, and the role of the environment in shaping those choices.

Read the Full Text Study

“Silent Listeners: The Evolution of Privacy and Disclosure on Facebook”

Source

Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality

Authors

Fred Stutzman, Carnegie Mellon University
Ralph Gross, Carnegie Mellon University
Alessandro Acquisti, Carnegie Mellon University

Filed under: Data Files, News, Patrons and Users, Profiles

SHARE:

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

Now Available to All Readers in Illinois: Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Partners with the University of...

UPDATE: An Announcement From the University of Chicago is Also Available: UChicago Library Expands Access to Banned Books Amid National Debate Over Censorship From a DPLA Announcement: The Digital Public ...

Invitation to Host IFLA WLIC (World Library and Information Congress) 2024 in Dubai Withdrawn

Here’s the Full Text of the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Statement Released Today: IFLA has been informed of the decision to withdraw the invitation to hold ...

Report: Exploring the Experiences of Canadians Accessing Alternate Format Print Materials

From Statistics Canada: In Canada, the 6.2 million persons with disabilities often experience challenges related to accessibility in their daily lives. While persons with disabilities face unique experiences and challenges ...

New Report: "Assessment of the Library of Congress's Digital Strategy"

From the Office of the Inspector General, Library of Congress: The Library’s digital planning and execution activities have resulted in numerous accomplishments. Despite these achievements, more work remains to clearly ...

A New Open Science Indicators Dataset From PLOS; Yale University Selects Clarivate to Provide Their Next Library Services...

EDUCAUSE 2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Holistic Student Experience Edition Open Science The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Open Science Recognition Challenge (via USGS) Public Library of Science ...

New Bill in New York State Assembly: re: Sale of Books Created with Generative AI

The bill linked below was posted on September 29, 2023. From the Summary: Requires online sellers of books created wholly or partially with the use of generative artificial intelligence to ...

A Banned Books Week Video Message From LeVar Burton re: Let Freedom Read Day on October 7, 2023

From the Video’s Description: Beloved reading advocate, writer, and television and film star LeVar Burton is leading this year’s Banned Books Week, which takes place October 1–7, 2023. He’s ready ...

PEN America, ALA, Children's Book Council, Leading Publishers, Teacher Groups, and Other Organizations Launch Letter-Writing Campaign to Oppose...

Here’s the Full Text of a Release From PEN America: For Banned Books Week 2023, PEN America and We Believe gathered a consortium of the nation’s leading publishers, teacher and ...

Academic Librarian Leans on Internet Archive for Access and Analysis; Op/Ed: CT Community College Libraries are Folding—Students Deserve...

Alabama Huntsville Library Disputes Alabama Political Reporter’s Evidence-Based Story on Relocating LGBTQ Books (via APR) Connecticut Op/Ed: CT Community College Libraries are Folding—Students Deserve Better (via CT Mirror) Dryad Dryad ...

Not Real News: An Associated Press Roundup of Untrue Stories Shared Widely on Social Media This Week

From the Associated Press: A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were ...

North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Reverses Ban on Banned Books Week Events at Schools

From The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools quickly reversed a ban Friday on Banned Books Week events planned in schools. In an email to principals Friday afternoon, a CMS spokeswoman warned ...

South Carolina State Library Leaves American Library Association (ALA), Does Not Renew Membership

From the Charleston City Paper: Librarians are learning the S.C. State Library in August quietly notified the national trade association for libraries that the state was not renewing its membership ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Tweets by infoDOCKET

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2023 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.