Privacy Protecting Behavior in Social Network Sites

Risks generally lead to Protecting Behavior. However, it is still unknown which specific Protecting Behavior results from Perceived Privacy Risk in Social Network Sites (SNSs). In this article, we draw from the Protection Motivation Theory to postulate an influence of Perceived Privacy Risk (Threat Appraisal) on six Privacy Protecting Behaviors SNS members can use, which we identified in the literature: Refusal, Misrepresentation, Removal, Selectivity in Connections, Termination of Connections, and Strictness of Privacy Settings. Moreover, we argue that because of differences between the Coping Appraisals of the six identified Privacy Protecting Behaviors, the extent of the influence of Perceived Privacy Risk on these six behaviors differs. We conclude by giving an outlook on the planned empirical evaluation of our research model as well as on potential practical implications.