Caring is not enough: the importance of Internet skills for online privacy protection

ABSTRACT

This article explains Internet users’ self-help activities in protecting their privacy online using structural equation modeling. Based on a representative survey of Swiss Internet users, it reveals past experiences with privacy breaches as a strong predictor of current protective behavior. Further, in line with the ‘privacy paradox’ argument, caring about privacy (privacy attitudes) alone does not necessarily result in substantial self-protection. Most strikingly, however, general Internet skills are key in explaining users’ privacy behavior. These skills enable users to reduce risks of privacy loss while obtaining the benefits from online activities that increasingly depend on the revelation of personal data. Consequently, Internet skills are an essential starting point for public policies regarding users’ self-help in privacy protection.

KEYWORDS:

• Surveillance/privacy
• skills
• Internet use
• privacy protection
• personal information
• governance

Notes on contributors

Moritz Büchi is a Research and Teaching Associate in the Media Change & Innovation Division, Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ), University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research focuses on Internet use and digital inequalities, social implications of ICTs, online privacy, and social research methods [email: [email protected]].

Natascha Just is a Senior Research and Teaching Associate in the Media Change & Innovation Division, Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ), University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her research focuses on changes of societal communication due to innovations and media convergence with a special emphasis on competition issues and Internet-induced changes and developments. [email: [email protected]].

Michael Latzer is Professor of Communications at the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ), University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he chairs the Media Change & Innovation Division. His research focuses on the co-evolution of technical, economic, political, and social innovations in the convergent communications sector, in particular on information society issues and Internet research. For details, see mediachange.ch. [email: [email protected]].

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) and the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Zurich.