Privacy, Disclosure, and Social Exchange Theory

Maintaining the privacy of one’s personal information — one’s choice of when to disclose it and to whom, how one maintains control over it, and the risks of disclosure — is one of the most important social issues of the internet era. For the past decade, privacy researchers have focused on several domains, including: documenting public opinion about privacy attitudes and expectations; understanding how user interfaces affect disclosure; and focusing on understanding interpersonal privacy dynamics within social media settings, to name a few.