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.
Downloads
References
Aboulnasr, K., Tran, G. A., & Park, T. (2021). Personal information disclosure on social networking sites. Psychology & Marketing. 39(2), 294–308. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21595
Acquisti, A., Brandimarte, L., & Loewenstein, G. (2015). Privacy and human behaviour in the age of information. Science. 347(6221), 509–514. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1465
Aljohani, M., Alastair, N. & Blincoe, K., 2016. A survey of social media users privacy settings and information disclosure. IEEE, pp. 1-10.
Alzaidi, M. S., & Agag, G. (2022). The role of trust and privacy concerns in using social media for retail services: The moderating role of COVID19. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 68, 103042.
Apeanti, W. & Essel, D., 2021. Students' use of social media in higher education in Ghana. IJMRD, pp. 1-12.
Atiso, K., & Kammer, J. (2018). User beware: Determining vulnerability in social media platforms for users in Ghana. Library Philosophy and Practice. 1.
Barbour, R. (2007). Doing focus groups. London: Sage Publications.
Barrett-Maitland, N., & Lynch, J. (2020). Social media, ethics, and the privacy paradox. Security and Privacy from a Legal, Ethical, and Technical Perspective. 49.
Barth, S., & Menno, J. (2017). The privacy paradox–Investigating discrepancies between expressed privacy concerns and actual online behaviour–A systematic literature review. Telematics and Informatics. 34(7), 1038–1058.
Beck, E., Ellen, G. M., Ho, A., Parks, A., & Rowe, S. (2021). Critical digital literacy as a method for teaching tactics of response to online surveillance and privacy erosion. Computers and Composition. 61, 102654.
Beigi, G. & Liu, H., 2018. Privacy in social media: Identification, mitigation, and applications. ACM Trans Web, pp. 39-74.
Beigi, G., & Liu, H. (2020). A survey on privacy in social media: Identification, mitigation, and applications. ACM Transactions on Data Science. 1(1), 1–38.
Boateng, R. (2022). Digital inclusion and privacy awareness in sub-Saharan Africa. Information Technology for Development. 28(1), 97–115.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. London: Sage Publications
Chen, H. T. (2018). Revisiting the privacy paradox on social media with an extended privacy calculus model: The effect of privacy concerns, privacy self-efficacy, and social capital on privacy management. American behavioural scientist. 62(10), 1392-1412.
Ciftci, U. A., Yuksek, G., & Demir, I. (2023). My Face My Choice: Privacy-Enhancing Deepfakes for Social Media Anonymisation. Proceedings of the IEEE/CVF Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision. 1369–1379.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications
Custers, B., van der Hof, S. & Schermer, B. (2013). Privacy expectations of social media users: The role of informed consent in privacy policies. CONSENT, pp. 1-10.
Custers, B., van der Hof, S., & Schermer, B. (2014). Privacy expectations of social media users: The role of informed consent in privacy policies. Policy & Internet. 6(3), 268–295.
Dadzie, O. & Fiawotoafor, T. (2020). Social media use among undergraduates in Ghanaian public universities. Digital commons, pp. 1-32.
Das, S., Dev, J., & Srinivasan, K. (2018). Modularity is the key to a new approach to social media privacy policies. Proceedings of the 7th Mexican Conference on Human computer Interaction, 1–4.
Eveleth, L., Stone, R., & Eveleth, 2021. Understanding social media users' privacy-protection behaviours. Ahead of Print, pp. 1-10.
Fernandes, T., & Pereira, N. (2021). Revisiting the privacy calculus: Why are consumers (really) willing to disclose personal data online? Telematics and Informatics. 65, 101717.
Fosu, M. (2016). A linguistic description of the language of Ghanaian newspapers: implications for the readability, comprehensibility and information function of the Ghanaian press. Ghana Journal of Linguistics. 5 (1), 1-36.
Gerber, N., Gerber, P., & Volkamer, M. (2018). Explaining the privacy paradox: A systematic review of literature investigating privacy attitude and behaviour. Computers & Security. 77, 226–261.
Hargittai, E., & Marwick, A. (2016). “What can I really do?” Explaining the privacy paradox with online apathy. International Journal of Communication. 10, 3737–3757.
Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2021). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine. 292, 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523
Heravi, A., Mubarak, S., & Choo, K. R. (2018). Information privacy in online social networks: Uses and gratification perspective. Computers in Human Behaviour. 84, 441–459.
Hinds, J., Williams, E. J., & Joinson, A. N. (2020). “It wouldn’t happen to me”: Privacy concerns and perspectives following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. International Journal of Human Computer Studies. 143, 102498.
Hollenbaugh, E. E. (2019). Privacy management among social media natives: An exploratory study of Facebook and Snapchat. Social Media+ Society. 5(3), 2056305119855144.
Ibdah, D., Lachtar, N., Meenakshi, S. & Bacha, A. (2016). Why should I read the privacy policy? I just need the service: A study on attitudes and perceptions towards privacy policies. IEEE Access, pp. 1-10.
Jain, A. & Sahoo, S. K. J. (2021). Online social networks security and privacy: Comprehensive review and analysis. Complex Intell. Syst, pp. 2157-2177.
Jozani, M., Ayaburi, E., Ko, M. & Choo, K. (2020). Privacy concerns and benefits of engagement with social media enabling apps: A privacy calculus perspective. ISFPP, pp. 1-17.
Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Utilization of mass communication by the individual. In J. G. Blumler & E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, pp. 19–32.
Kokolakis, S. (2017). Privacy attitudes and privacy behaviour: A review of current research on the privacy paradox phenomenon. Computers & Security. 64, 122–134.
Krasnova, H., Spiekermann, S., Koroleva, K., & Hildebrand, T. (2010). Online social networks: Why we disclose. Journal of Information Technology. 25(2), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2010.6
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Kuczerawy, A. & Coudert, F. (2011). Privacy settings in social networking sites: Is it fair? ICRI, pp. 231-234.
Kumar, S., Saravanakumar, K. & Deepa, K. (2016). On privacy and security in social media - A comprehensive study. Procedia Computer Science. 78, pp. 114-119.
Lewis, K., Kaufman, J., & Christakis, N. (2008). The taste for privacy: An analysis of college student privacy settings in an online social network. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication. 14(1), 79–100.
Lie, D., Austin, L. M., Sun, P., & Qiu, W. (2022). Automating accountability? Privacy policies, data transparency, and the third-party problem. University of Toronto Law Journal. 72(2), 155–188.
Litt, E. & Hargittai, E. (2014). Smile, snap and share? A nuanced approach to privacy and online photo-sharing. Poetics, p. 21.
Litt, E. (2013). Knock, knock. Who is there? The imagined audience. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, pp. 330-345.
Manen, van, & Manen, van. (2021). Doing phenomenological research and writing. Qualitative Health Research. 31(6), 1069–1082.
Markos, E., Peña, P., Labrecque, L. I., & Swani, K. (2023). Are data breaches the new norm? Exploring data breach trends, consumer sentiment, and responses to security invasions. Journal of Consumer Affairs. 57(3), 1089-1119.
McClain, C., Faverio, M., Anderson, M., & Park, E. (2023). How Americans view data privacy: Tech companies, AI, regulation, passwords, and policies. Pew Research Centre. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/10/18/how-americans-view-data-privacy/
Meier, Y., Schäwel, J., & Krämer, N. C. (2020). The shorter the better? Effects of privacy policy length on online privacy decision making. Media and Communication. 8(2), 291–301.
Meral, K. Z. (2021). Social media short video sharing TikTok application and ethics: data privacy and addiction issues. In Multidisciplinary approaches to ethics in the digital era. IGI Global, pp. 147–165.
Norberg, P. A., Horne, D. R., & Horne, D. A. (2007). The privacy paradox: Personal information disclosure intentions versus behaviours. Journal of Consumer Affairs. 41(1), 100–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2006.00070.x
Obar, J. A., & Oeldorf-Hirsch, A. (2020). The biggest lie on the internet: Ignoring the privacy policies and terms of service policies of social networking services. Information, Communication & Society. 23(1), 128–147.
Owusu, A., Taana, I. H., Bakare, A. S., Abdurrahaman, Daha Tijjani, & Edem, F. (2020). Investigating the nexus between mobile apps adoption and privacy concerns among users: an empirical analysis from Ghana. Technium Social. Science. Journal. 10, 167.
Owusu-Acheaw, M. & Larson, A. (2015). Use of social media and its impact on academic performance of tertiary institution students: A study of students of Koforidua Polytechnic, Ghana. Journal of education and practice, pp. 94-103.
Petersen, C., & Lehmann, C. U. (2018). Social media in health care: time for transparent privacy policies and consent for data use and disclosure. Applied Clinical Informatics. 9(04), 856–859.
Quan‐Haase, A., & Young, A. L. (2014). The uses and gratifications (U&G) approach is a lens for studying social media practice. The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory, 269–286.
Quinn, K. (2016). Why we share: A uses and gratifications approach to privacy regulation in social media use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 60(1), 61–86.
Radu, A., Orzan, M., Dobrescu, A. & Arsene, O., 2016. The importance of trust and privacy in social media. IJAREMS. 5(2), pp. 57-68.
Rafique, G. M. (2017). Personal information sharing behaviour of university students via
online social networks. Library Philosophy and Practice. 1.
Salleh, N., Hussein, R., Mohamed, N., & Aditiawarman, U. (2013). An empirical study of the factors influencing information disclosure behaviour in social networking sites. In 2013 International Conference on Advanced Computer Science Applications and Technologies. IEEE, pp. 181-185.
Shao, H., Li, X., & Wang, G. (2022). Are You Tired? I am: Trying to Understand Privacy Fatigue of Social Media Users. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts, 1–7.
Singh, M. (2021). Privacy preservation techniques for social network users. ICCMST, pp. 127-131.
Such, J. M., & Rovatsos, M. (2016). Privacy policy negotiation in social media. ACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems (TAAS). 11(1), 1–29.
Susser, D., Roessler, B., & Nissenbaum, H. (2019). Online Manipulation: Hidden Influences in a Digital World. Georgetown Law Technology Review. 4(1), 1-45.
Taddicken, M. (2014). Privacy calculus on social networking sites: Explorative evidence from Germany and the USA. Journal of Technology in Human Services. 32(3), 196–215.
Thomas, A., & Gupta, V. (2021). Social capital theory, social exchange theory, social cognitive theory, financial literacy, and the role of knowledge sharing as a moderator in enhancing financial wellbeing: from bibliometric analysis to a conceptual framework model. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 664638.
Trifiro, B. M. (2022). Breaking Your Boundaries: How TikTok Use Impacts Privacy Concerns Among Influencers. Mass Communication and Society. 1–24.
Tuunainen, V., Oitkanen, O. & Hovi, M. (2016). Users' awareness of privacy on online social networking sites - Case Facebook. Bled, s.n., pp. 1-10.
Vgena, K., Kitsiou, A., & Kalloniatis, C. (2022). Understanding the role of users’ sociolocation attributes and their privacy implications on social media. Information & Computer Security. 30(5), 705–729.
Wang, T., Duong, T. D., & Chen, C. C. (2016). Intention to disclose personal information via mobile applications: A privacy calculus perspective. International Journal of Information Management. 36(4), 531–542.
Wisniewski, P. J., Knijnenburg, B. P., & Lipford, H. R. (2017). Making privacy personal: Profiling social network users to inform privacy education and nudging. International Journal of Human computer Studies, 98, 95–108.
Wu, L., Majedi, M., Ghazinour, K. & Barker, K. (2010). Analysis of social networking privacy policies. ACMDL, pp. 1-5.
Yang, R., Ng, Y. J., & Vishwanath, A. (2015). Do social media privacy policies matter? Evaluating the effects of familiarity and privacy seals on cognitive processing. 2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 3463–3472.
Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. PublicAffairs.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Modestus Fosu, Martin Thompson Kwadwo Ntem, Wise Kwame Osei (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
