Privacy Concern, Disclosure And Protection In Social Media Platforms

Privacy is an important manifestation of human beings.Protecting privacy means protecting the dignity of human beings,embodying a living art of modern civilization,ensuring the regularity of human behavior,the harmony of human society,the stability of interpersonal relationships,the safety of personal and property,and the peace of mind and body of individuals.However,the development of technology has led to social change.On the one hand,with the development of social media based on technology and communication,people are beginning to disclose themselves more and more in social networks.On the other hand,the object value of privacy appears.The privacy risks have increased,and the frequently exposed security incidents have intensified the privacy concerns of modern people.When proactive disclosure becomes a popular lifestyle,when the hidden privacy threats gradually emerge,people have to conduct self-disclosure while protecting privacy.Protection-based hiding and social-based disclosure seem to be the“everyday things” of people's social media using.Based on this,this study uses Multidimensional Developmental Theory of Privacy and Communication Privacy Management Theory to focus on the current social media usage,privacy awareness and privacy protection issues.In order to better achieve the research goal,taking the social media platform We Chat as an example,University students in Nanjing were selected as research objects,and questionnaire survey method was used to empirically examine the use of We Chat,privacy concerns,privacy disclosure and privacy protection status and their relationship of college students.The study found that the students' usage of We Chat is from 1 to 8 years,the average daily use time is longer,and higher than the average level of We Chat users in China,We Chat has been increasingly integrated into the daily life of college students,its specific content usage includes social,information,entertainment and consumption,which presents a full range of multi-scenario features.Their level of privacy concerns is high,especially regarding the privacy control of individuals and the privacy protection capabilities of the We Chat platform.In terms of privacy disclosure,they will classify their friends according to their intimate distance and control the level of privacy disclosure according to the intimacy of the relationship,that is,intimacy or alienation determines the more or less of disclosure.Their level of privacy protection is average,and a few people will use fake or suppressed methods to protect their privacy.College students' We Chat use,privacy concerns and privacy protection are positively related.The higher the use of We Chat,the more likely it is to implement privacy protection.The higher the level of privacy concerns,the more likely it is to implement privacy protection;Privacy disclosure and privacy protection are negatively correlated,the more privacy disclosures,the less likely it is to implement privacy protection;We Chat usage,privacy concerns,and privacy disclosure all affect privacy protection.