Presentation by Dr Nicola Stanley at 3rd Annual Social Media in Social Research Conference 24th June 2013

1. 1#SRAConf 2013
#SRAConf 2013
Exploring Privacy
Behaviours
of
Social Media Users
Nicola Stanley
Silver Dialogue Ltd
Privacy, Trust and Disclosure

2. 2#SRAConf 2013
Introduction
• Silver Dialogue recruits and researches people using mixed-
methods including through the use of social media.
• Recently we have noticed a change in the way people interact
with us through social media.
– In the past, people using social media preferred to send us private
messages to request further details about research projects.
– More recently some people are instead posting messages on our public
facing pages and including personal and sometimes sensitive
information about themselves.
• We were surprised to see this recent change in behaviour.
– What is going on and how can we manage this increased disclosure of
personal and sensitive information on social media?

3. 3#SRAConf 2013
Definition of Privacy - Oxford
• A state in which one
is not observed or
disturbed by other
people
• The state of being free
from public attention
Oxford Dictionaries

4. 4#SRAConf 2013
Definition of Privacy - Wikipedia
• Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or
information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively.
• The boundaries and content of what is considered private
differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic
common themes.
• Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to
remain unnoticed or unidentified in the public realm.
• When something is private to a person, it usually means
there is something within them that is considered
inherently special or personally sensitive. The degree to
which private information is exposed therefore depends
on how the public will receive this information, which
differs between places and over time.
• Privacy partially intersects security, including for instance the concepts of
appropriate use, as well as protection of information.
Wikipedia

5. 5#SRAConf 2013
Push & Pull
communications
Consumer Brand
• Marketing the brand
• Creating awareness
• Communicating the brand
credentials
• Facilitating ‘fan’ participation

6. 6#SRAConf 2013
Push & Pull
communications
Customer Brand
• Customer centric – the customer
conversation
• Building trust
• Showing that they are responsive
• Demonstrating that they care

7. 7#SRAConf 2013
Push & Pull
communications
Participant Brand
• Creating awareness
• Educating the public
• Building trust
• Being serious & also having
fun
• Controlled ‘fan’ participation
• Aiming to recruit people to
take part in research either
as interviewers or as
respondents
Our social media strategy
• Using Facebook to ‘Gather’
• Using Twitter to ‘Hunt’
• Explore advantages of Google+

8. 8#SRAConf 2013
What we have found
The social media effect on research
• Changing the ball game
– When the boundaries blur between the
recruitment and research process
– When a recruitment project becomes a
spontaneous focus group
– When a recruitment project becomes an
auction

9. 9#SRAConf 2013
Making too much private & sensitive
information publicly available?
• What is going on and how can we manage this increased
disclosure of personal and sensitive information on social
media?
• Should we be alarmed with this increased disclosure from
potential research participants - particularly taking into
account the recent launch of Fair Data principles by the
MRS?
Silver Dialogue - Hi everyone who posted a comment here. We have now
filled the places available on this project. Thank you all for your help. Just
to say that some of you have said some very private things about yourself
here and we take privacy very seriously, so please check the comments
you made here to ensure that you are happy for them to remain here. If
not please delete them - If you do decide to delete your comments
please do 'like' our page so that you can be kept informed of future
projects that might also be of interest to you.

10. 10#SRAConf 2013
What is going on and how best to manage
this level of disclosure?
• We decided to explore this phenomenon and undertook a study
looking specifically into privacy attitudes and the reported privacy
behaviours of social media users.
• Based on our original observations, we were expecting the findings to
show that people had become less private since they had started using
social media. That was our starting hypothesis!
• We used a multivariate analysis to
develop a model for privacy behaviour
and a segmentation of social media users.
• The web survey of 354 online panellists
was undertaken in November 2012.

11. 11#SRAConf 2013
Social media use
Online panellists
N=354 online panellists. Survey undertaken November 2012

12. 12#SRAConf 2013
Social media usage
Online panellists
• For the purposes of the further analysis we categorised the
respondents into two groups:
• We classified mainstream users as those who used at least one
of the main social media sites of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace
or Google+.
Mainstream social media
users – 73% of respondents
Light users/non-users of social
media – 27% of respondents

13. 13#SRAConf 2013
Socio-demographics
Significant age effect
73% 72% 73%
86%
73%
61%
27% 28% 27%
14%
27%
39%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All Male Female Aged 18-34 Aged 35-50 Aged 51+
Light or Non-user of Social Media Mainstream Social Media User

14. 14#SRAConf 2013
Reported privacy behaviours
The nine questions
• We asked respondents nine questions regarding their general privacy
behaviours covering hard copy data, social media & online behaviours.
How likely would you be to…. % Likely
(very likely or fairly likely)
Shred documents containing personal details (such as name and address etc.) before
disposing of them.
61%
Set privacy settings to closed/private when opening an account on a social network. 53%
Read the privacy statements before I sign up to social media or other membership
websites.
49%
Provide personal details to a website that I know and trust. 37%
Contribute my personal opinion (which could be controversial) to an online forum. 24%
Post comments on an online forum under my real name. 20%
Consent to my details being shared with third parties when I am providing them to an
organisation known to me.
14%
Put my email address on a public forum. 10%
Publish items of a sensitive nature about myself or my family online. 6%
All respondents = 354

15. 15#SRAConf 2013
Reported privacy behaviours
The headlines
• Generally 18-35 year olds reported less private behaviours, or
that they were likely to ‘publish’ or share more information and
opinions online than those in the older age categories.
• Females reported more private
behaviours and that they were
less likely to publish and share
information and opinions than males.
• Mainstream social media users on the whole said they were
more likely to publish and share personal information and
opinions than light users/non-social media users.

16. 16#SRAConf 2013
Privacy behavioural segmentation
Factor analysis
F1 - Openly sharing personal
data [variance=24%]
F2 - Openly sharing opinions
[variance=16%]
F3 - Controlled online &
offline privacy behaviours
[variance=15%]
F4 - Partially closed
behaviours dependant on
trust levels [variance=13%]
F5 - Controlled online
privacy behaviours
[variance=12%]
1 - Apprehensive passives (n=46) 2 - Confident cavaliers (n=112)
3 - Controlling cautionaries (n=135) 4 - Savvy opinionators (n=61)

17. 17#SRAConf 2013
Apprehensive passives
Confident cavaliers
Controlling cautionaries
Savvy opinionators
x
x
x
x
Contributions to social media
Cluster analysis
Openly sharing personal data (variance=24%)
Openlysharingopinions(variance=16%)

18. 18#SRAConf 2013
Most comfortable research methods
Percentage choosing as top choice
28%
22%
10%
8%
7%
7%
6%
4%
4%
2%
By email between yourself and the researcher
A face to face conversation between yourself and the
researcher
1 to 1 private messages with a researcher via a social
network/website that you use
A telephone conversation between yourself and the
researcher
Online drop-in forum to see questions & people's
comments, then add your feedback
Secret facebook group
A face to face group discussion with less than ten
people
A live online discussion forum between a group of
people at a fixed time
On a public facebook group
Twitter feedn = 354 online panellists
Imagine you have agreed
to take part in some
market research, led by a
researcher.
How comfortable would
you be contributing your
personal opinions in the
following situations?
Why did you select your
top choice? (open
response and coded by
researcher)

19. 19#SRAConf 2013
Apprehensive passives (cluster 1)
Accounting for 13% of our 354 online panellists
F1 - Openly
sharing data
F2 - Openly
sharing
opinions
F3 - Controlled
online &
offline privacy
F4 - Partially
controlled
dependant…
F5 - Controlled
online privacy
Who they are
 Twice as likely to be light/non users of social media
(20%) versus mainstream media users (10% ). In fact
a third of them don’t use social media at all.
 Evenly split between men and women and across
age groups.
Feel more comfortable with these methods because:
 Feel safe & secure (22%)
 Are 1 to 1 with no other witnesses or people listening
in or judging them (19%)
 Are private/less public/confidential (16%)
 Like to see/know who they are talking to so can
confirm identity (11%)
Most comfortable discussion-type research methods
 Email 1:1 with interviewer (30%)
 Face to face interview (26%)
 Private message 1:1 on website used (13%)
 Telephone interview (9%)

20. 20#SRAConf 2013
Confident cavaliers (cluster 2)
Accounting for 32% of our 354 online panellists
F1 - Openly
sharing data
F2 - Openly
sharing
opinions
F3 - Controlled
online &
offline privacy
F4 - Partially
controlled
dependant…
F5 - Controlled
online privacy
Who they are
 Accounting for a greater proportion of those aged
below 35 (40%) than those aged 35 or above (28%).
Chances of being in this cluster tapers off with
increasing age!
 Evenly spread between men and women
 Evenly spread between mainstream social media
users and light/non-users
Feel more comfortable with these methods because:
 They like/enjoy (16%)
 Are private/less public/confidential (15%)
 Feels comfortable/feels right (13%)
Most comfortable discussion-type research methods
 Email 1:1 with interviewer (25%)
 Face to face interview (19%)
 Private message 1:1 on website used (11%)
 Telephone interview (9%)

21. 21#SRAConf 2013
Controlled cautionaries (cluster 3)
Accounting for 38% of our 354 online panellists
F1 - Openly
sharing data
F2 - Openly
sharing
opinions
F3 - Controlled
online &
offline privacy
F4 - Partially
controlled
dependant…
F5 - Controlled
online privacy
Who they are
 Close to half (46%) of the women in the survey
belong to this group compared to just over a
quarter of the men (28%)
 Evenly spread across the ages
 Evenly spread between mainstream social
media users and light/non-users
Feel more comfortable with these methods because:
 Are private/less public/confidential (23%)
 Like to know/see who they are talking to so can
confirm identity (12%)
Most comfortable discussion-type research methods
 Email 1:1 with interviewer (34%)
 Face to face interview (26%)
 Online drop-in forum (9%)

22. 22#SRAConf 2013
Savvy opinionators (cluster 4)
Accounting for 17% of our 354 online panellists
F1 - Openly
sharing data
F2 - Openly
sharing
opinions
F3 - Controlled
online &
offline privacy
F4 - Partially
controlled
dependant…
F5 - Controlled
online privacy
Who they are
 Men were more likely (at 22%) to belong to
this group than women (only 14%).
 Evenly spread across the ages.
 This group is more likely to include the
mainstream social media users (23%) than
light/non-users (only 3%).
Feel more comfortable with these methods because:
 Are private/less public/confidential (26%)
 Feel safe and secure (13%)
 Easiest and most convenient (11%)
Most comfortable discussion-type research methods
 Email 1:1 with interviewer (21%)
 Face to face interview (18%)
 Private message 1:1 on website used (13%)
 Secret Facebook group (11%)
 Telephone interview (10%)

23. 23#SRAConf 2013
Level of engagement
Online panel sample
2 - Confident cavaliers
(32% of respondents)
4 - Savvy opinionators
(17% of respondents)
1 – Apprehensive passives
(13% of respondents)
3 – Controlled cautionaries
(38% of respondents)
)
Increasinglevelofparticipation
Increasing level of personal privacy control

24. 24#SRAConf 2013
Building trust in data privacy
www.fairdata.org.uk

25. 25#SRAConf 2013
By becoming a Fair Data company you agree to adhere to ten core principles. The principles support
and complement other standards such as ISOs, and the requirements of Data Protection legislation.
1. We will ensure that all personal data is collected with customers’ consent.
2. We will not use personal data for any purpose other than that for which consent was given,
respecting customers' wishes about the use of their data.
3. We will make sure that customers have access to their personal data that we hold, and that we
tell them how we use it.
4. We will protect personal data and keep it secure and confidential.
5. We will ensure staff understand that personal data is just that – personal – and ensure that it is
treated with respect.
6. We will ensure that the vulnerable and under-age are properly protected by the processes we
use for data collection.
7. We will manage our data supply chain to the same ethical standards we expect from other
suppliers.
8. We will ensure that ethical best practice in personal data is integral to our procurement
process.
9. We will ensure that all staff who have access to personal data are properly trained in its use.
10. We will not use personal data if there is uncertainty as to whether the Fair Data Principles have
been applied.
The Ten Principles

26. 26#SRAConf 2013
Attitudinal shifts since using
social media
Half with unchanged attitudes
• Most (45%) of our social media users said they are just
as concerned about privacy now as they have ever
been.
• A few (6%) said they weren’t concerned in the past and
aren’t now.
Half with changed attitudes
• More users reported they are more concerned (44%)
than those who are now less concerned (5%).
• Main reasons for increased concern were: ID theft and
criminal activity, bad publicity and ‘all the stories you
hear’, hacking and the number of people with access to
information about you.
• Of those that were less concerned, their reasons cited
were having fewer problems than expected and
becoming accustomed to people seeing more about
you.

27. 27#SRAConf 2013
Building trust in the research process
Methodology preferences
All
1
Apprehensive
passives
2
Confident
cavaliers
3
Controlled
cautionaries
4
Savvy
opinionators
You know how your contact
details were obtained
76% 78% 46% 93% 90%
Comments you make remain
anonymous
66% 70% 44% 82% 70%
That you remain anonymous
in group discussions
65% 67% 38% 87% 65%
That you remain anonymous
in one to one discussions
60% 61% 41% 75% 62%
Conversation is carried out by
an independent researcher
62% 68% 38% 68% 85%
Top Box Analysis
% who said ‘very’
or ‘fairly important’
How important is it to you, when taking part in market research that…

28. 28#SRAConf 2013
Conclusions & implications
– Social media changes the ball game and blurs the edges
between the traditional recruitment and research process.
– Even in the era of social media there is still a role for
anonymous and independent research.
• This is not so important though for the Confident cavaliers,
accounting for a third of our online panellists.
– When researching internet panellists an online research
solution isn’t always the most comfortable for them to
contribute their personal opinions.
• 1 to 1 discussions directly with the researcher either by email or
face to face are preferred.

29. 29#SRAConf 2013
And what of our starting hypothesis?
YES!
 People have become less private since they have started using
social media. This is one reason that people are putting more
sensitive and personal information about themselves on social
media.
– Privacy is culturally dependent, personal and contextual
– But also experience based!
But there could also be other key factors at play
 Perhaps we have built trust amongst our social media
followers so they are willing to disclose more to us.
 The mix of our audience might have changed with a larger
proportion caring much less about how much they say about
themselves online e.g. Confident cavaliers.

30. 30#SRAConf 2013
Going forward...
The Fair Data initiative is an excellent foundation on which to
start to build trust and public understanding.
We also need to continue to think about:
– Educating the public about privacy in research (both online & offline)
– Designing online research methods that are easy to use and
understand in terms of privacy control settings
– Building trust with potential participants with the aim to move
them all closer to being Savvy Opinionators.
…Be a Participant Brand!