Self-disclosure and Privacy Concerns in Adolescence: Quantitative Data from Vocational Schools in St.Petersburg

Social networking sites play an essential role in today’s life for nearly every human. Nowadays, a great share of studies examines such online phenomena as self-disclosure and concerns about privacy. The findings from much research suggest that the two are related in the way that higher reported rates of privacy concerns lead to a decline in disclosure. However, a widespread paradox called the privacy paradox undermines this relationship. The privacy paradox is of interest because it is a much-debated question still, and it is hard to conclude whether it is general trouble. Moreover, still little is known about the nature of online behavior of young adults. Likewise, there are few studies that focus on the Russian case and on widely used social media in this country. The present research examines the self-disclosure and privacy concerns of students of Saint Petersburg vocational schools on the basis of the data from VK profile pages (n = 640). The impact of risky behaviors on the level of one’s disclosure online and corresponding privacy controls was assessed. It has been found that the relationship between privacy controls and self-disclosure exist (rs = .36). Moreover, the findings suggest that males tend to have more private profile pages, whereas females less open personal messages and calls.