Situating Privacy Online: Complex perceptions and everyday practices

Media and research reports point to the issue of privacy as the key to understanding online behaviour and experience. Yet it is well recognized within privacy-advocacy circles that 'privacy' is a loose concept encompassing a variety of meanings. In this article we view privacy as mediating...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Information, communication & society communication & society, 2004-01, Vol.7 (1), p.92-114
Main Authors: Viseu, Ana, Clement, Andrew, Aspinall, Jane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Computer Mediated Communication
Ethnographic research
ethnographic study
Everyday Life
Individuals
Information
Internet
Mediation
Perception
perceptions
Practice
practices
Privacy
Toronto, Ontario
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Summary:Media and research reports point to the issue of privacy as the key to understanding online behaviour and experience. Yet it is well recognized within privacy-advocacy circles that 'privacy' is a loose concept encompassing a variety of meanings. In this article we view privacy as mediating between individuals and their online activities, not standing above them, and as being constantly redefined in actual practice. It is necessary to examine, therefore, what individuals are reacting to when asked about online privacy and how it affects their online experience. This article is based on data generated in the Everyday Internet study, a neighbourhood- based, ethnographic project being conducted in Toronto, Canada, that investigates how people integrate online services in their daily lives. We propose that there are three organizing 'moments' of online privacy: the moment of sitting in front of the computer, the moment of interaction with it, and the moment after the data has been released.
ISSN:1369-118X
1468-4462
DOI:10.1080/1369118042000208924