Ignorance or Inaction: An Analysis of Social Media Users’ Perspective on Privacy in Data Collection. A Study of Tertiary Students in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63772/jocmas.v11n1.3Keywords:
Data Protection, Online, Social Media, Tertiary Students, Ghana, PrivacyAbstract
This research focuses on tertiary education students in Ghana, investigating their awareness, perspectives, and behaviours regarding their data and privacy on social media and related matters. The question of whether Ghanaian tertiary students’ social media data privacy behaviours result from strategic awareness, ignorance, or carelessness has received negligible research attention. Underpinned by the Uses and Gratifications and Privacy Paradox theories, this qualitative study explores awareness patterns, data protection strategies, and factors that influence continuous disclosure of personal information on online platforms. Data were drawn from focus group sessions involving students from the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC), the University of Ghana (UG), and African University College of Communication (AUCC). It was found that social media users in tertiary schools are engaged in a complex interplay of awareness, utility, gratification, and risk management in terms of data protection on social media. This indicates that online data protection behaviours stem from cognitive processes that compromise utility and gratification rather than mere carelessness and inaction. The findings underscore the need for improved data protection education among students and reassessment of online data protection regulations in Ghana.
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