Resignation or Resistance? Examining the Digital Privacy Attitudes and Behaviours of East Yorkers
Abstract
Digital technologies have become enmeshed in everyday life causing the public to become exposed to potential privacy risks through data collection and aggregation practices. Further, the upsurge in use of social networking platforms has also created opportunities for privacy violations through institutional and social surveillance. Employing a qualitative thematic analysis, this study explores how adults (N=101) living in East York, Toronto, navigate privacy through their use of the internet and digital services. Participants expressed feelings of mistrust, loss of control, resignation, and perceived self-unimportance with regards to their digital data. Importantly, others noted their desire and attempts to gain agency when using online services. This study provides support for the rich and developing body of literature on the sociology of resignation; as such, it challenges the notion that digital users are unconcerned about their data online and argues for a re-evaluation of the "informed" and "empowered" actor metaphor at the heart of the privacy paradox debate.