Social Networking Concerns: Risk taking, Trust and Privacy
Recently published study by Fogel and Nehmad (2009) examines “risk taking, trust, and privacy concerns with regard to social networking websites” (p. 153). The researches contacted, interviewed and surveyed 205 college students to find out if their anticipation in online communities such as Facebook and Myspace could affect individuals’ further behavior. The researchers concluded that those students who actively visit social networking websites “have greater risk taking attitudes than those who do not have profiles” on websites such as Facebook or Myspace. The study also indicates that women are less likely to develop “risk taking attitudes” than men. Furthermore men are more likely to publish their personal information more than women. With research results in mind, Fogel and Nehmad urge for “health care professionals, psychologist, communication companies, and consumer advocacy groups” to recommend that social networking companies issue warning of existence of such risk before a person signs-up and become a member of the online social network (p.160).
References:
Fogel, J., & Nehmad E. (2009). Internet social network communities: Risk taking, trust, and privacy concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 25, Issue 1, 153 - 160. Retrieved January 4, 2009, from WilsonWeb database.
4 comments:
Hello Martina, you chose the topic I am quite concerned in, which is great. Therefore, I was reading your blog with increased interest! In this article, I quite miss you opinion. So, do you think it is necessary to warn people about some potential danger connected with joining some kind of social network? (I do not think so, by the way).I will be grateful for your answer!
Martina, it seems everyone wants to know your opinion here... are you going to leave them hanging or let them know?
Also, how easy or difficult was it for you to find sources on this topic?
tnesbitt
To Petr and Victoria, thank you both for valuable comments. I'm a "facebooker" like millions of others and participate in social networking more than I like to admit. At the same time, I'm very cautious about the information I publish and do try not to get swallowed by the system. I do believe that it's necessary to inform people about the effects social networks have on our lives. Not necessarily warn the users but make them aware that these effects exist. I hope this answers your questions. Martina
Mr. Nesbitt, thank you for your comment and a follow up question. It was not very easy to find credible and reliable sources on this topic. Of course there are hundreds of articles that discuss the issue but only few concrete scientific studies have been published. That may be because Facebook and Myspace are quite a new phenomenon and might be early to observe any long term effects. Please let me now if you'd like read any of the studies I discussed. I'd be happy to send you the documents. Martina
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