Routes towards Users' Self-Disclosure on Social Network Sites: Integrating Perspectives of the Elaborative Likelihood Model and Construal Level Theory

Privacy concerns gradually capture online users’ attention and become an important issue as more privacy leaks or invasion events occur. Even though users know the privacy risks of information disclosure, many still fail to adopt protection mechanisms, notify privacy police, or decrease their information disclosure behavior on social network sites. Several studies have attempted to explain the privacy paradox based on the perspective of privacy calculus. Researchers summarized privacy paradox factors into the conscious mode and the unconscious mode. The former is related to decision-making based on a risk-benefit calculation rooted in boundary rationality and the latter is related to decision-making based on prevalent benefits and little to no risk assessment due to optimism bias. Following this line, we propose that online users do not perform any assessment when they are releasing their personal information just because they take pleasure in the process, and experience positive emotions during the process of interaction, rather than pursue any benefits. This is different from the “unconscious mode” because it is based on pursuing the benefits of self-disclosure. Accordingly, we try to explain phenomenon of privacy paradox by considering affective factors, rather than only considering rational factors, especially users’ emotions and feelings from the perspective of Elaborative Likelihood Model (ELM). The ELM is based on the notion that persuasion occurs via one of two paths—the central or peripheral route. We propose that users’ self-disclosure behavior on SNSs is the outcome of their own decision and they do not necessarily analyze the trade-off of self-disclosure rationally. Users on social network sites (SNSs) may act impulsively and disclose their personal information without thinking, or users on SNSs may carefully evaluate the benefits and risks of self-disclosure. Users on SNSs tend to choose to perform self-disclosure behavior in which they think such behavior does not result to immediate danger if they do not really understand the consequences of self-disclosure and privacy invasion. Their different performance depends on the deficiency of knowledge related to consequences of privacy leaks. The awareness and knowledge related to consequences of privacy invasion or leaks gradually fade out with the passage of time based on the perspective of construal level theory (CLT). The closer the time is to the point of decision-making, the more concrete the information related to the decision. Users’ psychological distance related to privacy invasion or leaks changes the process of decision-making of self-disclosure behavior.Accordingly, we proposed that users’ self-disclosure behaviors on SNSs are a decision-making process and they are persuaded to disclose personal information by either the central or peripheral route based on the perspective of ELM. The central route is a cognitive evaluation of perceived benefits and risks. The peripheral route consists of situational and individual feelings, including institutional trust and cognitive absorption. Users’ choices of persuasion routes depend on psychological distance of privacy invasion and leak events based on the perspective of CLT.This study will conduct online surveys for data collection. We will propose theoretical and managerial implications based on results of data analysis.

Project ID:PB10708-2109
External Project ID:MOST107-2410-H182-004