Online privacy behavior among youth in the Global South. A closer look at diversity of connectivity and information literacy
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-03-2018-0025 |
| Date | 11 March 2019 |
| Published date | 11 March 2019 |
| Pages | 17-30 |
| Author | Jan Michael Alexandre Cortez Bernadas,Cheryll Ruth Soriano |
Online privacy behavior among
youth in the Global South
A closer look at diversity of connectivity and
information literacy
Jan Michael Alexandre Cortez Bernadas and Cheryll Ruth Soriano
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, it explores the extent to which diversity of
connectivity or the connection through multiple internet access points may facilitate online privacy
behavior. Second, it explains the diversity of connectivity-online privacy behavior link in terms of
information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach –Situated in the context of urban poor youth in the Philippines (n=
300), this paper used a quantitative approach, specifically an interview-administered survey technique.
Respondents were from three cities in Metro Manila. To test for indirect relationship, survey data were
analyzedusing bootstrapping technique via SPSS macro PROCESS (Hayes,2013).
Findings –Urban poor youth with diversified connection to the internet engaged in online privacy
behavior. The more the youthare connected to the internet through diverse modalities,the more this fosters
cautious online privacy behavior. In addition,information literacy explained how diversity of connectivity
facilitatedonline privacy behavior. It suggests that differencesin online privacy behavior may result from the
extent of basic know-how of navigating online information. In the context of the urban poor in the Global
South, the youth are constantly negotiatingways to not only connect to the internet but also acquire digital
skills necessaryfor protective online behaviors.
Originality/value –To date, this is one of the few papers to contribute to conversations about online
privacy among youth in the Global South. It broadensthe literature on social determinants of online privacy
behaviorthat is crucial for designing policy interventions for those in the margins.
Keywords Philippines, Information literacy, Information systems, Global South,
Online privacy behavior, Second-level digital divide
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Information and communicationtechnology (ICT) has expanded reach, from affluent centers
to the margins of the Global South. Yet, while online access among youth in the Global
South is increasing, little evidence aboutthe extent to which they protect themselves online
is available (Brown and Pecora, 2014, p. 201,203-204; Livingstone and Bulger, 2014, p. 318).
In addition, there is paucity of research explaining the determinants andconditions for
online privacy behaviors,especially in the context of marginalized communities. To address
this gap, this paper explores howand why young people in slum communities engagein
online privacy behavior. Drawing theoretical insights from social differentiation approach
(van Dijk and Hacker, 2003, p. 321, 324) andsecond-level digital divide (Hargittai, 2002,p.2,
The authors acknowledge the support of De La Salle University through a Challenge Grant (#500-
458) titled “Social ecology of internet use by youth in slums: Piloting an info-literacy pisonet”project.
They are likewise thankful to Mr Ruepert Jiel Cao for his research assistance.
Closer look at
diversity of
connectivity
17
Received19 March 2018
Revised9 August 2018
Accepted8 November 2018
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.17 No. 1, 2019
pp. 17-30
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-03-2018-0025
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm
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