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Beyond disclosure: the role of self-identity and context collapse in privacy management on identified social media for LGBTQ+ people

Xinlin Yao (Business School, Nankai University, Tianjin, China)
Yuxiang Chris Zhao (School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China)
Shijie Song (Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing, China)
Xiaolun Wang (College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China)

Journal of Documentation

ISSN: 0022-0418

Article publication date: 10 October 2022

Issue publication date: 4 April 2023

597

Abstract

Purpose

While anonymous online interactions could be helpful and less risky, they are usually not enough for LGBTQ+ people to satisfy the need of expressing their marginalized identity to networks of known ties (i.e. on identified social media like Facebook, WeChat, and TikTok). However, identified social media bring LGBTQ+ people both sources and challenges like “context collapse” that flattens diverse networks or audiences that are originally separated. Previous studies focus on LGBTQ+ people's disclosure and responses to context collapse, few studies investigate how their perceptions of context collapse are shaped and their privacy management beyond regulating disclosure on social media. Drawing on identity theory and communication privacy management (CPM), this study aims to investigate how the need of LGBTQ+ people for self-identity affects their perceived context collapse and results in privacy management on identified social media.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the target population is LGBTQ+ people, The authors recruited participants through active LGBTQ+ online communities, influential LGBTQ+ activists, and the snowballing sampling. The authors empirically examined the proposed model using the PLS-SEM technique with a valid sample of 232 respondents concerning their identity practices and privacy management on WeChat, a typical and popular identified social media in China.

Findings

The results suggested that the need for expressing the self and the need for maintaining continuity of self-identity have significant influences on perceived context collapse, but vary in directions. The perceived context collapse will motivate LGBTQ+ individuals to engage in privacy management to readjust rules on ownership, access, and extension. However, only ownership management helps them regain the perceived privacy control on social media.

Originality/value

This study incorporated and highlighted the influence of LGBTQ+ identity in shaping context collapse and online privacy management. This study contributes to the literature on privacy and information communication and yields practical implications, especially on improving privacy-related interactive design for identified social media services.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (#72002103, 72204076) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (#63222055).

Citation

Yao, X., Zhao, Y.C., Song, S. and Wang, X. (2023), "Beyond disclosure: the role of self-identity and context collapse in privacy management on identified social media for LGBTQ+ people", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 79 No. 3, pp. 718-742. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2022-0080

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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