February 23, 2011

Is Your Privacy Safe Online?

Preliminary results from an ongoing study conducted by Ball State University's Center for Media Design (CMD) revealed interesting data on internet users’ perceptions of online security and privacy. Titled "Notions of Privacy: Ignorance, Illusion or Miscommunication," the main focus for this phase in the study was to understand how people felt about having their personal information tracked online.

Researchers found that the views of many respondents varied when sharing their personal information with different organizations. This was mainly attributed to the perceived benefits and security risks associated with how organizations might use the data, with most respondents feeling comfortable sharing information on sites such as Facebook and Amazon because of their transparency with users. Other key findings of the study revealed that privacy can also depend on other factors such as (1) the context of the consumer, (2) the nature of the information being tracked, and (3) the organizations that are tracking it.



How about you? Do you feel safe online? Feel free to leave your comments below. You can also visit MediaPost News to read the full article that highlights the CMD's research findings.

For more information about CMD Insight & Research, please visit their blog at http://www.researchcmd.com/.

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