Students' awareness of privacy risks in online interactions: a case study of students of higher institutions in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Social network sites have influenced communication behaviour in a variety of contexts. This development has brought with it challenges with online privacv, self- disclosure and the overall well- being of the social media users. This study examines the interaction between, privacy awareness, privacy concerns and social media users' online behaviour. Guided by Communication Privacy Management Theory, the study adopted Survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) methods. The simple random technique was employed to select the study population from among the students of University of Ibadan and the Polytechnic Ibadan. From this population, Purposive and Convenience sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 330 respondents - 165 respondents respectively from each 'Institution. Findings from this study show that Facebook and Instagram users are aware of the privacy risks attached to their online interactions. However, privacy paradox comes to the fore because, in spite of the identified privacy concerns, findings reveal that individuals still disclose personal information on the social media platforms. This apparent disregard for online privacy by many of the respondents is attributable to some gratifications the respondents claim they derive from these virtual interactions. While responding to the enquiry about what information may he disclosed online, majority of the respondents (78.2%), reported that information that pertains to one's income, financial Status and bank transactions should not for any reason he posted on Facebook and Instagram. Moreover, (76.3%) of the respondents agreed that facts relating to one’s family affairs should not be posted on Facebook and Instagram