Youth Discussions of Security and Privacy on Social Media

Abstract

As adolescents (ages 13-17) are increasingly engaging with others online, it is critical to understand the potential privacy and security risks they experience. Prior research on the digital privacy and security of youth has focused on their awareness (or lack thereof) of potential threats and developing interventions by analyzing public profiles or conducting interviews or surveys with youth. Yet, how youth discuss security and privacy-related topics with their peers through private online chat is under-explored. To explore how youth discuss digital security and privacy with their peers, we perform a thematic analysis of 1,318 Instagram direct message discussions that 149 youth participants (ages 13-21) had with others. Through our qualitative analysis, we reveal youth security and privacy perspectives in their own terms, demonstrating their experiences with and preparation for online risks as well as how they discuss such notions with peers. We find recurring trends of sharing security advice and recognizing potential threats, demonstrating strong practices to ensure one's security and privacy. Furthermore, in many cases where youth encountered threats, they knew how to cope with such threats and shared their experiences with others to raise awareness of potential privacy and security risks. However, concerning trends of youth sharing sensitive account information and plans for attacking the security and privacy of others along with social approvals from peers were still present. Through our analysis, we present a nuanced perspective of the digital security and privacy of US youth and how they discuss such perspectives with others. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for design and education to promote the digital privacy and security of youth.

Content Warning: This paper contains examples of profanity and vulgar language. Reader discretion is advised.