Snowden’s revelations and the attitudes of students at Swedish universities

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to map Swedish students’ attitudes towards Snowden’s revelations and their effects in the political and socio-cultural environment of Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was answered by 190 Swedish university students. The quantitative responses to the survey and qualitative considerations of free text answers were statistically analysed.

Findings

Swedish students had a high level of knowledge about the Snowden revelations; they actively searched for information, gave a positive judgement of Snowden’s actions and were willing to follow his example in Sweden, although not in the USA. They trusted their country and most of its institutions and authorities except for secret service agencies and the internet and computer software companies.

Practical implications

This study could be used as a design of education for university students, especially in information technology programmes.

Social implications

The study can be used for developing and applying policies on privacy, surveillance and whistle-blowing.

Originality/value

This study is part of a bigger international study to map students’ attitudes towards Snowden’s revelations and their opinions about privacy, surveillance and whistle-blowing opening up for cross-cultural analyses.

Citation

Kavathatzopoulos, I., Asai, R., Adams, A.A. and Murata, K. (2017), "Snowden’s revelations and the attitudes of students at Swedish universities", Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-02-2017-0009