Resisting online manipulation
How teens perceive and respond to privacy dark patterns on social media
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12420341 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dominique Kelly (0000-0003-1222-6237, Western University), Jacquelyn Burkell (0000-0003-2645-8127, Western University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Internet Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1066-2243 • E-ISSN: 2054-5657 |
| Publisher | Emerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1108/intr-04-2024-0539 |
| OpenAlex | W4413212964 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
Purpose This study examines how teens perceive and respond to privacy-undermining design strategies – or “privacy dark patterns” – on social networking sites (SNSs). Specifically, we sought to ascertain whether teens can identify privacy dark patterns on social media and to determine how teens respond to these patterns, including documenting any strategies they use to resist them. Design/methodology/approach We conducted four virtual focus groups with Canadian teens aged 13 to 17. In breakout rooms, participants guided a research assistant’s actions while the assistant set up a social networking site account. Participants were instructed to make the account as private as possible and consider how the site’s design could influence their choices. Participants then returned to the main Zoom session and discussed the privacy dark patterns they identified and their strategies for resistance. Findings Our results show that teens can identify a wide range of privacy dark patterns and strategies for resistance when instructed to set up a private social media account and look for design strategies that could influence their behavior. However, teens reported low awareness of how interface design could impact their privacy choices before participating in the study. Teens also failed to identify privacy dark patterns that operated by increasing the salience of certain visual elements. Practical implications Educators should ask teens to consider how social media design influences their privacy choices through hands-on activities. However, the effects of these exercises might not persist during teens’ everyday social media use. Originality/value Little research has specifically investigated how teens respond to dark patterns
Cognitive psychology · Internet privacy · Originality · Resistance (ecology · Salience (neuroscience · Set (abstract data type · Social media · World Wide Web · Child Development and Digital Technology · Computer Science · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
The Dark (Patterns) Side of UX Design
Decision-making in the adolescent brain
The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families
Control your Facebook
The time course of salience
Making sense of algorithmic profiling
Shining a Light on Dark Patterns
Facebook privacy settings
Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning
A New Privacy Paradox? Youth Agentic Practices of Privacy Management Despite “Nothing to Hide” Online
How teens negotiate privacy on social media proactively and reactively
You never really know who’s looking”
Networked privacy
Teens' privacy management on video-sharing social media
Using thematic analysis in psychology
How Many Focus Groups Are Enough? Building an Evidence Base for Nonprobability Sample Sizes
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |