Title: Sharing secrets, revealing thoughts and feelings: perceptions about disclosure practices and anonymity in a FB university students' community

Authors: Maria Sideri; Angeliki Kitsiou; Christos Kalloniatis; Stefanos Gritzalis

Addresses: Privacy Engineering and Social Informatics Laboratory, Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, GR 81100 Lesvos, Greece ' Privacy Engineering and Social Informatics Laboratory, Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, GR 81100 Lesvos, Greece ' Privacy Engineering and Social Informatics Laboratory, Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, GR 81100 Lesvos, Greece ' Information and Communication Systems Security Laboratory, Department of Information and Communications Systems Engineering, University of the Aegean, GR 83200 Samos, Greece

Abstract: The aim of this study was to identify students' perceptions about personal information disclosure and anonymity in a specific Facebook University Community. The explicit goal of this Community is the sharing of secrets and the revelation of students' deepest thoughts and feelings on high sensitive issues as their erotic or sexual life, leading to information disclosures in various ways. An online survey was conducted and spread through Community's Facebook profile in order to record students' perceptions about the Community and to identify disclosure practices as well as perceived benefits and costs deriving from their participation. Anonymity as expected is valued positively while privacy violations seem to bother less since this is a public Community resulting in a stated comfort about secondary disclosure taking place through reference to persons' physical or other characteristics. This study enhances existing literature on Facebook, by enlightening more facets of personal information disclosure on Facebook students' communities.

Keywords: Facebook; students' communities; personal information disclosure; anonymity; privacy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2017.088216

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2017 Vol.9 No.3/4, pp.361 - 384

Received: 03 Apr 2016
Accepted: 08 Feb 2017
Published online: 29 Nov 2017 *

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