Information Disclosure and Generational Differences in Social Network Sites

Despite recent media reports regarding the negative consequences of disclosing information on social network sites (SNSs), young adults are generally thought to be unconcerned about the potential costs of this. Given the widespread use and potential dangers associated with online communication, an understanding of SNSs features and how people are using these sites is critical educating users about protecting their information and themselves. This study compares attitudes of 18-24 with 40+ year olds, to identify differences in privacy concerns. The study finds that the picture is more nuanced than usually portrayed, with remarkable similarities between the two groups with regards to privacy concerns and user attraction to SNSs. The 40+ age group are more knowledgeable about privacy in general (offline and online), so lack of knowledge rather than lack of concern regarding privacy may be a reason why the 18-24 group act in Facebook in a seemingly unconcerned manner

The Importance of Transparency and Willingness to Share Personal Information

This study investigates the extent to which individuals are willing to share their sensitive personal information with companies. The study examines whether skepticism can influence willingness to share information. Additionally, it seeks to determine whether transparency can moderate the relationship between skepticism and willingness to share and whether 1) companies perceived motives, 2) individual’s prior privacy violations, 3) individuals’ propensity to take risks, and 4) individuals self-efficacy act as antecedents of skepticism. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression is used to examine the relationships between all the factors. The findings indicate that skepticism does have a negative impact on willingness to share personal information and that transparency can reduce skepticis

A Review of Information Systems Research on Online Social Networks

Over the last decade, online social networks have evolved into a global mainstream medium with increasing social, organizational, and economic impact. This paper provides a structured overview of Information Systems research on this outstanding techno-social phenomenon of the 21st century via a structured literature review. Based on our search in information systems journals and conference proceedings that resulted in 510 papers, we carve out and assess the knowledge and the research fields that have been predominantly addressed and impacted by the information systems research community so far. Moreover, we identify research gaps that future research should address. We analyze how the academic discussion on online social networks developed in the information systems literature over time, which publication outlets are most receptive to research on online social networks, which research areas have already been covered by information systems research on online social networks, and what potential future research areas exist that have not been covered by information systems research yet. We hope that our results will stimulate and guide future research in this field