Does Privacy Have Any Impact on Self-Disclosure? A Systematic Review of Relevant Studies

Abstract

The study aims to collect and review (systematically) literature that investigates the impact of privacy on self-disclosure using Facebook.  Another purpose of the review is to identify the theories/ models applied/tested, the software used for data analysis in the reviewed research, the quality of the reviewed studies, and the countries leading in terms of publishing on the topic. The research also intends to shed light on the privacy-related aspects covered in the published studies. The researchers searched four databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), and Google Scholar to collect and review the literature on the topic. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses were used to conduct this review. The findings confirm that most reviewed studies found a negative impact of various privacy aspects on self-disclosure on social media sites. The review identified that Privacy Calculus Theory was the most frequently tested in the reviewed studies. The majority of the reviewed literature quality scores ranged between 12 to 13. It was also found that Privacy Concerns were the most discussed in the research reviewed. It was found that most literature was produced in the years 2023 and 2018 and that more than 85% of the studies were published collaboratively with two and more than two authors. This is the first review of its kind that collected and reviewed (systematically) the literature that investigated the impact of privacy on self-disclosure on social networking sites. This is also the first systematic review identifying the most used theories in the reviewed research. This is a unique study that identified the privacy aspect frequently discussed in the literature in the area. This review may get the attention of social media providers to offer various personalized and customized features by empowering users with better control over their privacy and access to personal information, which is likely to mitigate user privacy concerns and improve their trust in social media sites.