Trust factors
If, for example, a stranger asked you for your email, birthday, and general address, red flags would probably be raised, and this request would be denied. However, social networking sites often require this information as a prerequisite to signing up, and must be provided before you could meet the aforementioned stranger online. As mentioned in this site, self-disclosure is the act of making your personal information public. While self-disclosure can occur anywhere from an interpersonal level to a global level across the internet, the content of information disclosed changes depending on the medium. In fact, because the use of social networking sites has become the fourth most popular online activity, more and more of this information is being poured into, and then stored, online, raising a number of privacy concerns (Kluemper, Rosen, & Mossholder, 2012 Joinson, Reips, Buchanan, & Schofield, 2010). If, as posed by Beldad, de Jong, and Steehouder (2011), people desire the protection of their personal data online, it is fair to ask why, then, do previous data suggest a “disjunction between people’s stated attitudes and their actual actions to protect their privacy” (Joinson, et al. 2010).
Beldad et al. (2011) claim people generate rules to guide them in deciding whether or not they should disclose private information, based on their perceived risks of the disclosure. Trust has been cited by Joinson et al. (2010) as the most important factor in understanding why people violate their attitudes towards privacy protection online. While there are many ways to define trust, Kim and Benbasat (2006) defined it as the frequently cited, “willingness to be vulnerable”; the perceived trustworthiness of a website is the primary determinate in information disclosure.
Therefore, how an individual perceives (and subsequently, the information disclosed) a website is directly dependent how trustworthy a website is able to make itself appear (Beldad et al., 2011; Kim and Benbasat, 2006; & Nicolaou and McKnight, 2006). In order to establish this trustworthiness, a website must demonstrate that it has both the ability to protect information, and motivation and intention to protect any information collected (Beldad et al., 2011). First, a website should display a privacy policy that clearly describes how personal information will be collected, used, stored, and then protected. Along with the privacy policy, third party seals of approval have been shown to increase trust. Next, websites that claim the presence of a security system have significantly increased trust. Finally, websites can use customer feedback and public relations to establish a positive reputation (Beldad et al., 2011; Kim and Benbasat, 2006).
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There are several websites dedicated just to providing third party user reviews such as
Yelp and Angie's List |
Research by the scholars mentioned above has been done to support the claims made. Nicolaou and McKnight (2006) manipulated perceived quality of information provided by venders online to determine the effects on participants’ intentions to use said vendors. Several factors, including trust, were taken into account when considering the affects. Data showed a positive effect of trusting beliefs on intentions to use the online vender, as well as a negative effect of trust on perceived risk.
Kim and Benbasat (2006) manipulated trust assuring arguments to test effects on participants’ trusting beliefs. Data demonstrated no significant difference in trust when arguments were claimed without support from when arguments were not made. Trust was increased, however, when trust assuring arguments were claimed, supported with data, and were also backed.
Joinson et al., (2010) designed two studies to examine the relationship between online privacy attitudes, and actual behaviors. Data from Study 1 supported the idea that disclosure would be highest in situations where both trust and perceived privacy levels were high. Also, participants disclosed less personal information if they had concerns regarding the safety of their information. Study two showed that while perceived privacy had an effect on disclosure, it was mediated by trust. This means that perceived privacy’s correlation with disclosure can best be explained by a correlation between privacy and trust.
Kim and Benbasat (2006) manipulated trust assuring arguments to test effects on participants’ trusting beliefs. Data demonstrated no significant difference in trust when arguments were claimed without support from when arguments were not made. Trust was increased, however, when trust assuring arguments were claimed, supported with data, and were also backed.
Joinson et al., (2010) designed two studies to examine the relationship between online privacy attitudes, and actual behaviors. Data from Study 1 supported the idea that disclosure would be highest in situations where both trust and perceived privacy levels were high. Also, participants disclosed less personal information if they had concerns regarding the safety of their information. Study two showed that while perceived privacy had an effect on disclosure, it was mediated by trust. This means that perceived privacy’s correlation with disclosure can best be explained by a correlation between privacy and trust.