Managing Disclosure through Social Media: How Snapchat is Shaking Boundaries of Privacy Perceptions
Keywords:
Snapchat, Privacy, Privacy Boundaries, Ownership, Control, Turbulence, Social MediaAbstract
The rise of online human communication tools commonly referred to as social media apps are changing the dynamics of interpersonal relationships through self-disclosure and privacy management. However, little scholarly research is speaking to the broader role of social media as a method of privacy management in the context of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, this study focuses on Snapchat, a smartphone photo-share app and its influences on privacy management and privacy boundaries centered around the process of building and strengthening relationships through disclosure of private information. Using qualitative interview technique, results from 75 Snapchat users led to the identification and discussion of three categories related to Communication Privacy Management Theory: privacy ownership, privacy control, and privacy turbulence. Finally, this investigation explores and describes a new way in which scholars can view Snapchat through McLuhan’s claim that the medium is the message.
References
Altman, I., & Taylor, D. A. (1973). Social penetration: The development of interpersonal relationships. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Altman, I. (1975). The environment and social behavior: Privacy, personal space, territory, and crowding. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Barnlund, D. (1970). A transactional model of communication. In K. K. Sereno, & C. D. Mortensen, Foundations of communication theory (pp. 83-92). New York: Harper and Row.
Barss, P. (2010). The erotic engine: How pornography has powered mass communication, from Gutenberg to Google. Toronto: Anchor Canada.
Baxter, L. A., & Montgomery, B. M. (1992). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics. New York: Guilford.
Benotsch, E. G., Snipes, D. J., Martin, A. M., & Bull, S. S. (2013). Sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 307-313.
Berger, C. (1987). Communicating under uncertainty. In M. E. Roloff, & G. R. Miller, Interpersonal processes: New directions in communication research. Newbury Park: Sage.
Boyles, J. L., Smith, A., & Madden, M. (2012). Pew research center: Privacy and data management on mobile devices. Washington: Pew Research Center.
Bradner, E., Kellogg, W., & Erickson, T. (1999). Social affordances of babble. CHI Conference. Pittsburgh: CHI.
Burke, M., & Kraut, R. (2013). Using Facebook after losing a job: Differential benefits of strong and weak ties. Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing, 1419–1430.
Child, J. T., Pearson, J. C., & Petronio, S. (2009). Blogging, communication, and privacy management: Development of the blogging privacy management measure. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60 (10), 2079–2094.
Cho, H., Rivera-Sanchez, M., & Lim, S. (2009). A multinational study on online privacy: Global concerns and local responses. New Media and Society, 11(3), 395-416.
Conville, R. (1991). Relational transitions: The evolution of personal relationships. New York: Praeger.
Dye, J. F., Schatz, I. M., Rosenberg, B. A., & Coleman, S. T. (2000). Constant comparison method: A kaleidoscope of data. The Qualitative Report.
Ekman, U. (2015). Complexity of the ephemeral - snap video chats. Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, 5(1/2), 97-101.
Erbert, L. A., & Floyd, K. (2004). Affectionate expressions as face-threatening acts: Receiver assessments. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 230-246.
Fung, B. (2014, January 1). A Snapchat security breach affects 4.6 million users. Did Snapchat drag its feet on a fix? Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/01/01/a-snapchat-security-breach-affects-4-6-million-users-did-snapchat-drag-its-feet-on-a-fix/
Gillette, F. (2013, February 7). Snapchat and the erasable future of social media. Business Week, pp. 42-47.
Greene, K., Derlega, V. J., & Matthews, A. (2006). Self-disclosure in personal relationships. In A. Vangelisti, & D. Perlman, The cambridge handbook of personal relationships. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. (2015). Communication Privacy Management Theory of Sandra Petronio. In A First Look at Communication Theory (Ninth ed., pp. 151-163). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Hill, K. (2013, March 9). Snapchats don't disappear: Forensics frim has pulled dozens of supposedly-deleted photos from android phones. Forbes, p. 30.
Hofstede, G. (2003). Culture's consequences. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hollenbaugh, E. E., & Ferris, A. L. (2014). Facebook self-disclosure: Examining the role of traits, social cohesion, and motives. Computers in Human Behavior, 50-58.
Ivy, D. K., & Backlund, P. (2000). Exploring gender speak: Personal effectiveness in gender communications. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Johnson, A., Wittenberg, E., Haigh, M., Wigley, S., Becker , J., Brown, K., & Craig, E. (2004). The process of relationship development and deterioration: Turning points in friendships that have terminated. Communication Quarterly, 54-67.
Kaplan, A.M. & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 59-68.
Katz, E. (1957). The two-step flow of communication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 61-78.
Kennedy-Lightsey, C. D., Martin, M. M., Thompson, M., Himes, K. L., & Clingerman, B. Z. (2012). Communication Privacy Management Theory: Exploring Coordination and Ownership Between Friends. Communication Quarterly, 60(5), 665-680.
Knapp, M. (1978). Social intercourse: From gretting ot goodbye. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.
Knapp, M. L., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2009). Interpersonal communication and human relationships (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
Kwak, H. (2012). Self-disclosure in online media. International Journal of Advertising, 485-510.
Large, B. (2013, July 19). Snapchat pivots from privacy to publicity. The New Statesman.
Lee, D. (2014, October 10). Nude 'Snapchat images' put online by hackers. Retrieved December 15, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29569226
Leventhal, G., & Matturro, M. (1980). Differential effects on spatial crowding and sex on behavior. Perceptual Motor Skills, 111-119.
Litt, E., & Hargittai, E. (2014). A bumpy ride on the information superhighway: Exploring turbulence online. Computers in Human Behavior, 36 520-529.
Luft, J. (1969). Of human interaction. Palo Alto: National Press Books.
Madden, M., & Smith, A. (2010). Reputation management and social media: How people monitor their identity and search for others online. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Majovski, K. (2013). Data expiration, let the user decide: Proposed legislation for online user-generated content. University of San Francisco Law Review.
Markel, N. N., Long, J., & Saine, T. J. (1976). Sex effects in conversational interaction: Another look at male dominance. Communication Research, 35-64.
Mayo, C., & Henley, N. (1981). Gender and nonverbal behavior. New York: Springer.
McLuhan, M. (1967). The medium is the message: An inventory of effects. New York: Bantam.
Negroponte, N. (1996). Being digital.New York: Vintage Books.
Nissenbaum, H. (2011). A contextual approach to privacy online. Daedalus, 140 (4), 32–48.
Omkareshwar, M. (2012). Mobile text messaging: An emerging market tool. Advances in Management, 10-16.
Parker, T. S., Blackburn, K. M., Perry, M. S., & Hawks, J. M. (2013). Sexting as an intervention: Relationship satisfaction and motivation consideration. American journal of family therapy, 1-12.
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park: Sage.
Petronio, S. (2002). Boundaries of privacy: Dialectics of disclosure. New York, NY: SUNY Press.
Poltash, N. (2013). Snapchat and sexting: A snapshot of baring your bare essentials. Richmond Journal of Law & Technology.
Rawlins, W. (1996). Friendship matters: Communication, dialectics, and the life course. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Richards, L., Richards, M. G., & Morse, J. M. (2012). Read me first for a user's guide to qualitative methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Rosen, J., & Rosen, C. (2013). Temporary social media. Technology Review, 46-47.
Rosenfeld, L. (1979). Self-disclosure avoidance: Why i am afraid to tell you who i am. Communication Monographs, 63-74.
Rosenfeld, L. (2000). Overview of the ways privacy, secrecy, and disclosure are balanced in today's society. In S. Petronio, Balancing the secrets of private disclosures (pp. 3-17). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
Schramm, W. (1954). How communication works. In W. Shramm, The process and effects of communication (pp. 3-26). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd ed.). New York: Teacher's College Press.
Seiler, W. J., & Beall, M. L. (2005). Communication: Making connections (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Singer, N. (2012, December 8). A vault for taking charge of your online life. The New York Times.
Snapchat, Inc. (2013, August 26). Snapchat Description. Retrieved from iTunes Preview: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapchat/id447188370?mt=8
Sommer, R. (1959). Studies in personal space. Sociometry, 247-260.
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29 (6), 434–445
Turner, M. (2013). European national news. London: Herbert Smith Freehils, LLP.
Valinsky, J. (2013, May 28). Meet Snapchat leaked: A website that exposes your screenshotted snaps. New York Observer.
Velten, J. & Arif, R. (2016). When pain can be managed by managing the communication: An analysis of patient feedback on clinicians’ pain management strategies. International Journal of Communication and Health, 10.
Weisskirch, R. (2012). Women's adult romantic attachment style and communication by cellphone with romantic partners. Psychological Reports, 281-288.
Wintrob, H. (1987). Self-disclosure as a marketable commodity. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 77-88.
Wortham, J. (2014). Snapchat settles with FTC over privacy claims. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/1969/12/25/snapchat/aGbXl7Fy5sVv9lbujwEd0I/story.html
Wrigley, J. (2004). Education and Gender Equality. New York: Routledge.
Zwier, S., Araujo, T., Boukes, M., & Willemsen, L. (2011). Boundaries to the articulation of possible selves through social networking sites: The case of Facebook profilers' social connectedness. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 571-576.
Altman, I. (1975). The environment and social behavior: Privacy, personal space, territory, and crowding. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Barnlund, D. (1970). A transactional model of communication. In K. K. Sereno, & C. D. Mortensen, Foundations of communication theory (pp. 83-92). New York: Harper and Row.
Barss, P. (2010). The erotic engine: How pornography has powered mass communication, from Gutenberg to Google. Toronto: Anchor Canada.
Baxter, L. A., & Montgomery, B. M. (1992). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics. New York: Guilford.
Benotsch, E. G., Snipes, D. J., Martin, A. M., & Bull, S. S. (2013). Sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 307-313.
Berger, C. (1987). Communicating under uncertainty. In M. E. Roloff, & G. R. Miller, Interpersonal processes: New directions in communication research. Newbury Park: Sage.
Boyles, J. L., Smith, A., & Madden, M. (2012). Pew research center: Privacy and data management on mobile devices. Washington: Pew Research Center.
Bradner, E., Kellogg, W., & Erickson, T. (1999). Social affordances of babble. CHI Conference. Pittsburgh: CHI.
Burke, M., & Kraut, R. (2013). Using Facebook after losing a job: Differential benefits of strong and weak ties. Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing, 1419–1430.
Child, J. T., Pearson, J. C., & Petronio, S. (2009). Blogging, communication, and privacy management: Development of the blogging privacy management measure. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60 (10), 2079–2094.
Cho, H., Rivera-Sanchez, M., & Lim, S. (2009). A multinational study on online privacy: Global concerns and local responses. New Media and Society, 11(3), 395-416.
Conville, R. (1991). Relational transitions: The evolution of personal relationships. New York: Praeger.
Dye, J. F., Schatz, I. M., Rosenberg, B. A., & Coleman, S. T. (2000). Constant comparison method: A kaleidoscope of data. The Qualitative Report.
Ekman, U. (2015). Complexity of the ephemeral - snap video chats. Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, 5(1/2), 97-101.
Erbert, L. A., & Floyd, K. (2004). Affectionate expressions as face-threatening acts: Receiver assessments. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 230-246.
Fung, B. (2014, January 1). A Snapchat security breach affects 4.6 million users. Did Snapchat drag its feet on a fix? Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/01/01/a-snapchat-security-breach-affects-4-6-million-users-did-snapchat-drag-its-feet-on-a-fix/
Gillette, F. (2013, February 7). Snapchat and the erasable future of social media. Business Week, pp. 42-47.
Greene, K., Derlega, V. J., & Matthews, A. (2006). Self-disclosure in personal relationships. In A. Vangelisti, & D. Perlman, The cambridge handbook of personal relationships. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. (2015). Communication Privacy Management Theory of Sandra Petronio. In A First Look at Communication Theory (Ninth ed., pp. 151-163). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Hill, K. (2013, March 9). Snapchats don't disappear: Forensics frim has pulled dozens of supposedly-deleted photos from android phones. Forbes, p. 30.
Hofstede, G. (2003). Culture's consequences. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hollenbaugh, E. E., & Ferris, A. L. (2014). Facebook self-disclosure: Examining the role of traits, social cohesion, and motives. Computers in Human Behavior, 50-58.
Ivy, D. K., & Backlund, P. (2000). Exploring gender speak: Personal effectiveness in gender communications. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Johnson, A., Wittenberg, E., Haigh, M., Wigley, S., Becker , J., Brown, K., & Craig, E. (2004). The process of relationship development and deterioration: Turning points in friendships that have terminated. Communication Quarterly, 54-67.
Kaplan, A.M. & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 59-68.
Katz, E. (1957). The two-step flow of communication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 61-78.
Kennedy-Lightsey, C. D., Martin, M. M., Thompson, M., Himes, K. L., & Clingerman, B. Z. (2012). Communication Privacy Management Theory: Exploring Coordination and Ownership Between Friends. Communication Quarterly, 60(5), 665-680.
Knapp, M. (1978). Social intercourse: From gretting ot goodbye. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.
Knapp, M. L., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2009). Interpersonal communication and human relationships (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
Kwak, H. (2012). Self-disclosure in online media. International Journal of Advertising, 485-510.
Large, B. (2013, July 19). Snapchat pivots from privacy to publicity. The New Statesman.
Lee, D. (2014, October 10). Nude 'Snapchat images' put online by hackers. Retrieved December 15, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29569226
Leventhal, G., & Matturro, M. (1980). Differential effects on spatial crowding and sex on behavior. Perceptual Motor Skills, 111-119.
Litt, E., & Hargittai, E. (2014). A bumpy ride on the information superhighway: Exploring turbulence online. Computers in Human Behavior, 36 520-529.
Luft, J. (1969). Of human interaction. Palo Alto: National Press Books.
Madden, M., & Smith, A. (2010). Reputation management and social media: How people monitor their identity and search for others online. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Majovski, K. (2013). Data expiration, let the user decide: Proposed legislation for online user-generated content. University of San Francisco Law Review.
Markel, N. N., Long, J., & Saine, T. J. (1976). Sex effects in conversational interaction: Another look at male dominance. Communication Research, 35-64.
Mayo, C., & Henley, N. (1981). Gender and nonverbal behavior. New York: Springer.
McLuhan, M. (1967). The medium is the message: An inventory of effects. New York: Bantam.
Negroponte, N. (1996). Being digital.New York: Vintage Books.
Nissenbaum, H. (2011). A contextual approach to privacy online. Daedalus, 140 (4), 32–48.
Omkareshwar, M. (2012). Mobile text messaging: An emerging market tool. Advances in Management, 10-16.
Parker, T. S., Blackburn, K. M., Perry, M. S., & Hawks, J. M. (2013). Sexting as an intervention: Relationship satisfaction and motivation consideration. American journal of family therapy, 1-12.
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park: Sage.
Petronio, S. (2002). Boundaries of privacy: Dialectics of disclosure. New York, NY: SUNY Press.
Poltash, N. (2013). Snapchat and sexting: A snapshot of baring your bare essentials. Richmond Journal of Law & Technology.
Rawlins, W. (1996). Friendship matters: Communication, dialectics, and the life course. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Richards, L., Richards, M. G., & Morse, J. M. (2012). Read me first for a user's guide to qualitative methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Rosen, J., & Rosen, C. (2013). Temporary social media. Technology Review, 46-47.
Rosenfeld, L. (1979). Self-disclosure avoidance: Why i am afraid to tell you who i am. Communication Monographs, 63-74.
Rosenfeld, L. (2000). Overview of the ways privacy, secrecy, and disclosure are balanced in today's society. In S. Petronio, Balancing the secrets of private disclosures (pp. 3-17). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
Schramm, W. (1954). How communication works. In W. Shramm, The process and effects of communication (pp. 3-26). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd ed.). New York: Teacher's College Press.
Seiler, W. J., & Beall, M. L. (2005). Communication: Making connections (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Singer, N. (2012, December 8). A vault for taking charge of your online life. The New York Times.
Snapchat, Inc. (2013, August 26). Snapchat Description. Retrieved from iTunes Preview: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapchat/id447188370?mt=8
Sommer, R. (1959). Studies in personal space. Sociometry, 247-260.
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29 (6), 434–445
Turner, M. (2013). European national news. London: Herbert Smith Freehils, LLP.
Valinsky, J. (2013, May 28). Meet Snapchat leaked: A website that exposes your screenshotted snaps. New York Observer.
Velten, J. & Arif, R. (2016). When pain can be managed by managing the communication: An analysis of patient feedback on clinicians’ pain management strategies. International Journal of Communication and Health, 10.
Weisskirch, R. (2012). Women's adult romantic attachment style and communication by cellphone with romantic partners. Psychological Reports, 281-288.
Wintrob, H. (1987). Self-disclosure as a marketable commodity. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 77-88.
Wortham, J. (2014). Snapchat settles with FTC over privacy claims. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/1969/12/25/snapchat/aGbXl7Fy5sVv9lbujwEd0I/story.html
Wrigley, J. (2004). Education and Gender Equality. New York: Routledge.
Zwier, S., Araujo, T., Boukes, M., & Willemsen, L. (2011). Boundaries to the articulation of possible selves through social networking sites: The case of Facebook profilers' social connectedness. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 571-576.
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2017-05-30
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