Oversharing on social media is causing a shift in the way social media participants view privacy issues...find out why

1. Why oversharing on social media is
changing our views on privacy
New report by McCann, Truth About Privacy, finds social media oversharing, bullying and who we trust
with our personal data are all impacting how consumers view privacy online
CMO staff, 10 January, 2014 15:03
A new report into US consumer data sharing and social media attitudes has highlighted a growing trend
towards being more selective and exclusive when it comes to sharing personal information online.
The new quantitative study, Truth About Privacy, from McCann Worldgroup’s consumer intelligence unit,
McCann Truth Central, looked into the change in consumer behaviour around privacy of information over
the past two years and noted a particular shift in attitudes around social media ‘oversharing’.
One of the biggest indicators of this is the ‘privacy backlash’ around what and how to communicate personal
details online, along with the evolving nature of what is ‘cool’ and ‘uncool’ in the eyes of social media users.
For example, ‘selfies’, one of the buzzwords of 2013, were rated uncool by nearly half of the survey
respondents under 34 years old, and 77 per cent of people at least 35 years of age on Instagram agreed. In
addition, only 35 per cent of people on Foursquare believed frequently ‘checking in’ your location is cool.

2. Bullying was another trend investigated as part of the study and as changing the way people behave online.
For example, youth in the survey explained their migration from Facebook to Snapchat as being partly
attributed to greater privacy (and therefore less bullying).
“We found evidence of a new trend towards being more selective and exclusive when it comes to sharing,
even among the teenage generation,” commented McCann Truth Central deputy director, Nadia Tuma.
“As one of our young people said, ‘the pendulum is swinging in the direction of more privacy’. This may
explain why young people are moving from Facebook to Snapchat. It is becoming cooler to be a bit
mysterious, like not being very searchable on Google.”
Given the recent Snowden revelations around unauthorised government access to personal data, it’s not
surprising that the number one privacy fear for respondents, and one that has increased significantly since
2011, is of governments using their personal data against them in some way.
When it comes to the types of organisations consumer trust their personal data to, Google and Facebook
were nominated the greatest threat to privacy. In contrast, banks remain the most trusted institutions when
it comes to using sensitive personal information properly.
As a result of the findings, McCann identified four behavioural ‘Bs’ defining accepted sharing and privacy
practices on social media: Bullying, boring, boasting and begging.
Brands were also guilty of falling into these categories as well if they didn’t interact on social media
channels in a manner considered appropriate by users. For instance, 66 per cent of people said a brand
using their content on a social media site without their permission is uncool, while more than half said a
brand calling you with an automated personalised message was uncool.
With social networks taking on a more dominant role in our lives, individuals and brands face myriad
potential pitfalls, McCann global director, Laura Simpson, said.
“Our findings point to new rules for navigating a world where privacy and publicity collide. The challenge
lies in maintaining a delicate balance between making yourself seem interesting without looking vain.”
The McCann study was based on quantitative research conducted in November with 1100 US consumers
over 18 years of age, followed by five group discussions with US consumers aged between 16-60. It was
unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on 8 January.