“And somehow it ends up on the Internet.” Agency, trust and risks in photo-sharing among friends and romantic partners

an article by Rebecca Venema and Katharina Lobinger (Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland) published in First Monday Volume 22 Number 7 (July 2017)

Abstract

Photographic practices and photo-sharing have become pervasive routine communicative acts in everyday life. Photo-sharing can be beneficial for maintaining and strengthening social relationships, but it also requires a careful reflections of trustful disclosure, intimacy, privacy and vulnerability.

Several scholars have found that conflicts regarding photo-sharing arise when assumptions regarding the “shareability” of pictures and an “appropriate” amount of photo-sharing differ. This demands for further insights into which practices are considered appropriate or inappropriate and for which reasons.

The present study explores norms and rules of taking and sharing pictures and examines how these norms are defined in close relationships, more precisely in romantic partnerships and friendships. It is based on 34 repertoire-oriented, semi-structured interviews that are combined with creative visual methods.

The analysis shows that trust, confidentiality and consent are the fundamental conditions for photo-sharing in close relationships. However, when it comes to negative causes and consequences of photo-sharing, trust and confidentiality are at the same time considered as unreliable and fragile constructs. Usually, the image-makers are held responsible for unintended sharing and re-sharing.

Further responsibility is ascribed to invisible agents and insecure technological structures, while other involved persons are not described as accountable agents. This implies that the fragility of trust in relationships needs to be anticipated in sharing processes. We argue that this necessitates further critical discussions of responsibilities, agency and trust in order to sustain the value and importance of close relationships in current digitally networked societies.

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Privacy and trust in Facebook photo sharing: age and gender differences

an article by Aqdas Malik, Kari Hiekkanen and Marko Nieminen (Aalto University, Espoo, Finland) published in Program Volume 50 Issue 4 (2016)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine gender and age differences regarding various aspects of privacy, trust, and activity on one of the most popular Facebook activity – “photo sharing.” Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected using an online survey hosted by a web-based survey service for three weeks during December 2014-January 2015. The target audience comprised of Facebook users over 18 years engaged in sharing their photos on the platform.

Findings
Women and young Facebook users are significantly more concerned about the privacy of their shared photos. Meanwhile, users from older age groups are less active in using the site, in sharing photos, and in taking privacy-related protective measures. Interestingly, despite having more privacy concerns, young Facebook users display higher trust levels toward the platform than older users. Overall, in the study, there was an extremely significant difference in privacy attitudes among people under and over 35 years of age.

Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is new knowledge regarding the gender and age differences in various privacy-related aspects, trust, and activity. Findings from the study broadens the overall understanding of how these issues positively/negatively influence the photo-sharing activity on Facebook.

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