Engaging in Inclusive Practices Online: A Netiquette Microstudy
By Carly Van Syckle, Nan Eileen Mead, & Rhianna Rogers
Abstract
In an ever-growing digital world, privacy has become an increasing topic of discussion for those who work, study, and shop online. Concerns about personal information being put on the internet and the improper use of provided information have only grown as more schools, stores, and social interactions are being moved in the digital direction. A survey was conducted at an in-person event at SUNY Empire State College during the Fall of 2019 to evaluate student’s concerns about internet privacy. Questions revolved around internet usage, protecting private information, internet advertisements, and computer viruses. The survey found itself to be very timely in that several months after its completion; the whole world was forced further into virtual domains as the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged most people to stay at home.
Literature Review
Hong & Thong (2013) identified Internet Privacy Concerns (IPC) as an individual’s perception of their concerns regarding how their personal information is used by websites. The significance of personal perception indicates that the expectation or reality of what websites may do with individuals’ information is not as crucial as how individuals think that their information is being handled. When relating this concept to our netiquette survey, we can determine that questions revolving around internet privacy perceptions are important when evaluating netiquette and internet privacy concerns. Hong, Chan, & Thong (2018) explained this concept of personal perception of privacy concerns by stating that many individuals perform a cost-benefit analysis, known as “privacy calculus” to calculate the trade-offs between the costs of providing personal information to websites and the benefits. This can help explain why many individuals may have different perceptions of a potential privacy risk when asked about internet privacy concerns, as the costs and benefits may vary from person to person.
Hong, Chan, & Thong (2018) recognized that there are different “drivers and inhibitors” of internet privacy concerns. To explain this concept, they use the Multidimensional Development Theory (MDT), which identifies these various factors as environmental, individual, information management, and interaction management. MDT depends on an individual’s judgment of economic vs. social exchanges, fairness, threats, and protection.
Hong, Chan & Thong (2018) have identified several factors that influence Internet privacy concerns. Individuals who have a general knowledge of Internet usage, maintain a social presence on the internet, and are familiar with trends in the legislative and regulatory environment, tend to have lower levels of Internet privacy concern. In contrast, individuals who are sensitive about disclosing personal information and previously have had personal information compromised tend to exhibit more significant Internet privacy concerns.
In addition to the Multidimensional Development Theory accounting for differences in individuals’ privacy concerns (Hong, Chan, & Thong, 2018), age may also play a significant role in conceptualizing privacy concerns. Auxier et al. (2020) suggest several implications that age has on how individuals view their control over their personal information. One difference accentuated by age is the lack of understanding associated with data privacy. According to Auxier et al. (2020), 78% of adults in the United States say that they understand very little or nothing about what the government does with data collection. Older adults also differ in their perception of privacy control. Adults 65 and older are less likely than those aged 28–29 to feel like they have control over who can access their locations, purchases, and private conversations (Auxier et al., 2019).
Methodology
Some universities have utilized online learning as their primary format for decades. For schools such as SUNY Empire, using online formats has been one of their primary modes of education long before COVID-19. These data were collected in the Fall of 2019 during an in-person event at SUNY Empire State College. The survey consisted of twenty-five (25) questions. Although many of the test questions could have been answered with simple “Yes” or “No” responses, the open-ended layout of the response space, combined with the fact that the survey responses were handwritten, provided the subjects with some flexibility to respond to the questions more qualitatively — or not at all. It should be noted that not all respondents answered every question.
Figures 1–3 show participant demographics by age, mode of campus attendance, and years at SUNY Empire State College.
Data Analysis
When asked about an overall concern for privacy, 78% of respondents claimed they held some concern for their privacy. In addition to answering the “Yes” or “No” aspects of the survey questions, several respondents provided detailed examples of the steps that they take to protect their privacy on the internet and elsewhere. One respondent commented that they use T-Mobile’s DIGITS app, which allows the user access to ‘proxy’ phone numbers on Caller ID to shield their actual phone number. Regardless of whether one expressed privacy concerns or not, several respondents indicated that they took precautions to protect themselves, such as using the computer only for school. Others indicated that they do not give out personally identifiable information online.
When asked if they shopped online with a debit or credit card, 100% of the respondents said “Yes.” Only 27.3% of respondents answered “Yes” when asked if they were concerned with having to shop for school-related items such as books and third-party programs online.
While many respondents claimed that they use the internet to make purchases using their credit cards, 58.3% claimed that they were concerned with how to protect their personally identifiable information (such as their social security, card numbers, etc.) when using the internet.
Lately, A growing concern that has been gaining attention is the concept of trustworthy news sources (whether they be online, televised, or in print). The availability for anyone to post anything online, trustworthy or not, has led many to carefully evaluate their sources before consuming the information. When asked what makes a source trustworthy when looking online for references, several different reasons were provided, including name recognition, research, social media reviews, and recommendations, checking with Google Scholar or the library.
One respondent indicated that they do not trust online sources for references. When asked about news sites specifically, political bias was frequently cited as a reason why some respondents found some news sites to be untrustworthy. One responder indicated that they heard about trustworthy news sites by word of mouth. Someone specifically mentioned CNN as a trustworthy site. Another respondent stated that they avoided news sites altogether.
Apart from the concern of trustworthy information, participants were asked several questions regarding viruses and software protection. When asked if they were concerned about viruses, 70% of respondents indicated that they are concerned about viruses, while 30% indicated that they were not. Furthermore, 89% of respondents indicated that they had gotten a computer virus before, while 11% indicated that they had not. Many participants stated that they used some type of software to protect their computers, several stated that they avoided clicking on ads through certain websites as a precaution, and 90% of respondents indicated that they used an ad blocker on their computers.
Conclusion
Internet privacy concerns are dependent on individual perceptions. These concerns vary from person to person due to what Hong, Chan, & Thong (2018) refer to as the Multidimensional Development Theory, which accounts for different factors that an individual accounts for when evaluating his or her privacy concerns. Apart from individual perception differences, age may also lend itself to be a factor in privacy concerns, according to Auxier et al. (2019). Differences in age and perceptions may impact how individuals view their internet privacy and the concerns that they have. To evaluate concerns about internet privacy, SUNY Empire State College conducted an in-person survey during the Fall of 2019. Questions regarding internet usage, protecting private information, internet advertisements, and computer viruses were asked in an open-ended format.
This survey was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic. Although concerns about internet privacy are not new, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed nearly every aspect of life into the virtual realm in some way. Class instruction for kindergarteners to graduate students has moved to Zoom and Google Classroom, business meetings are conducted through Microsoft office, shopping for everything from groceries to furniture can be done on the internet, and even some doctor’s appointments are now virtual. Online classes and online shopping are not new phenomena, and the change is that nearly everyone “went virtual” at the same time, creating an increase in online traffic worldwide. With an increase in the number of people using the internet comes an increase in the potential risks and associated concerns.
References
Auxier, B., Rainie, L., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., Kumar, M., & Turner, E. (2020, August 17). Americans and privacy: Concerned, confused and Feeling lack of control over their personal information. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information/
Hong, W., & Thong, J. (2013). Internet Privacy Concerns: An Integrated Conceptualization and Four Empirical Studies. MIS Quarterly, 37(1), 275–298. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43825946
Hong, W., Chan, F., & Thong, J. (2018). Drivers and Inhibitors of Internet Privacy Concern: A Multidimensional Development Theory Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 168, 539–564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04237-1
About the Authors
Carly Van Syckle: Carly Van Syckle is a Senior at the University at Albany double majoring in psychology and political science with a concentration in equality and inequality studies. She also just started work on her Master of Public Administration at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs. Van Syckle completed an internship at the Rockefeller Institute’s Center for Law and Policy Solutions. She has presented research on “The Lasting Effects of Institutionalized Discrimination” at the Institutions and Societies Conference at Rockefeller College and the New York State Political Science Association Conference. She spent a summer in Washington, D.C interning for the National Association of Home Builders where she lobbied members of Congress. Outside of the classroom, Van Syckle volunteers her time at the Center for Leadership and Service at the University at Albany. As part of the Buffalo Project, she will be working on an independent study titled, “Diversity and Cultural Competency.”
Nan Eileen Mead, MA: Nan Eileen Mead, M.A. is the Research Lead at SPEC and has been a member of the Buffalo Project since 2018. Her research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational settings. She is in the M. Ed. program at SUNY Empire State College and is an education policymaker in New York.
Dr. Rhianna C. Rogers: Dr. Rogers is an expert on cultural and ethnic studies, intercultural competencies and diversity education, cultural mediation, and virtual exchange programmatic development and implementation. Rogers is currently the inaugural Rockefeller Institute of Government-Ernest Boyer Presidential Fellow in the Center for Law and Policy Solutions (2019-present) and was the college-wide Coordinator of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (2017–2019.) Rogers has won multiple awards for her innovative approach to teaching and learning, including, most recently, the 2019–2020 SUNY Empire Provost/Associate Dean Innovation Award, the 2018–2019 Explorations in Diversity & Academic Excellence Award (EDAE), and the 2017–2018 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
