Research brief: early adolescents’ perceptions of the motivations and consequences of sharing passwords with friends in Belgium

ABSTRACT

Despite indications that password sharing is prevalent among early adolescents, limited empirical research has sought to understand why young teenagers share their passwords with others. This exploratory study aims to address this research gap by investigating early adolescents’ perceptions of the motivations and consequences of sharing passwords with friends. In February and March 2020, we conducted nine focus groups with 51 participants (n = 24 boys, 47%; n = 27 girls, 53%). The participants were between 13 and 16 years old (M_age = 14.35; SD_age = 0.74). The results indicate that password sharing is normative among adolescents. We identified five main motivations for sharing passwords. The results indicate that password sharing can either be a very deliberate behavior or occur rather spontaneously. The respondents perceived impersonation, hacking, and posting insulting content as the main negative outcomes of password sharing. The results of our exploratory study provide stepping stones for future theory-driven research and underscore the need for media literacy research to focus on practical technical skills as well as interpersonal skills to educate early adolescents about unsafe password sharing.

IMPACT SUMMARY

• Prior State of Knowledge: Prior studies show that password sharing with friends is a common behavior among early adolescents. The context, motivations and consequences of password sharing behavior within adolescents’ friendships are poorly understood.

• Novel Contributions: The results of our study indicated that password sharing can either be a very deliberate behavior or occur rather spontaneously. The respondents perceived impersonation, hacking, and posting insulting content as the main negative outcomes of password sharing.

• Practical Implications: Educational programs should focus on technical skills for keeping accounts safe after a password has been shared and should discuss the interpersonal aspects of password sharing (e.g. teaching how to tell someone that they no longer want to share a password).

KEYWORDS:

• Early adolescents
• password sharing
• e-safety
• media literacy

Data availability statement

To protect the privacy of our respondents the data cannot be publicly shared.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by a postdoctoral research grant of the Research Foundation – Flanders under grant number 12J8719N and a grant by the Research Fund of the University of Antwerp under grant number FFB190303. The study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of the data, writing of the report and the decision to submit the article for publication were the sole responsibility of the authors and were in no way influenced by the funding institution.

Notes on contributors

Joris Van Ouytsel

Joris Van Ouytsel is an assistant professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. His research focuses on media literacy, sexting, online intimate partner violence, and the role of digital media in friendships and romantic relationships.

Debra De Groote

Debra De Groote holds a master’s degree in Communication Studies of the University of Antwerp and bachelor’s degrees in social work and accountancy. Her master’s dissertation research focused on the role of digital media within adolescents’ friendships.