Abstract
This study compares college students’ attitudes about privacy and trust when sharing digital images or video of themselves with three specific forms of Internet- and cellular-based media: Facebook, other social networking sites, and mobile phones. An increasing popular use of mobile phones is the practice of ‘sexting:’ sending and receiving sexually explicit images. These practices have only recently been introduced to criminological literature. Results indicate that trust in the receiver of images sent via mobile phones was significantly higher than other mediums. Also, females were less likely to trust mobile phones as they age if they reported to have previously engaged in sexting behaviors. This article argues that trust in sharing images or video via mobile phones is perhaps misplaced because there are many ways of losing control through non-consensual use of the digital images (e.g., victimization). Further, future research needs clearer distinctions to be made when defining the term ‘sexting’ and the intentions and purposes of people who engage in it.
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Notes
Adapted items used to compile trust scales:
Facebook Trust
Facebook.com is a trustworthy social network. I can count on Facebook.com to protect my privacy. I can count on Facebook.com to protect my personal information from unauthorized use. Facebook.com can be relied on to keep its promises.
Social Network Trust
Web sites are trustworthy social networks. I can count on most social sites to protect my privacy. I can count on most sites to protect my personal information from unauthorized use. Social web sites can be relied on to keep their promises.
Cellular Trust
The people that I send pictures/video to are trustworthy. I can count on those people to protect my privacy. I can count on those people to protect my personal information from unauthorized use. Those people can be relied on to keep their promises.
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Zemmels, D.R., Khey, D.N. Sharing of Digital Visual Media: Privacy Concerns and Trust Among Young People. Am J Crim Just 40, 285–302 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9245-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9245-7