Do I Know What You Can See? Social Networking Sites and Privacy Management

Social networking sites invite users to share personal information with their connections, allowing individuals to easily maintain their social capital. The sharing of personal information on social networking sites can bring positive outcomes; however, it can also lead to issues such as identity theft and cyberbullying. This research examines the privacy practices of Facebook users, capturing not only their usage and perceptions of Facebook's privacy management capabilities but also adaptations such as self-censorship of shared information. Data from the current study are compared with data collected in 2007; results suggest that Facebook users today are even more actively engaged in privacy management, are less likely to accept friend requests from unknown entities, and are more proactive in their responses to privacy incidents.