I have an early study on this topic: Tufekci, Zeynep (2008). Grooming, Gossip, Facebook and Myspace. What can we learn about these sites from those who won't assimilate? *Information, Communication and Society. *Volume 11, pages 544-564. Full text can be found here: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~zeynep/papers/ZeynepSocialGroomingandFacebook.pdf My key finding was that the main concern wasn't just privacy but also orientation towards social grooming. Non-Facebook users in my sample (college students with tech access) were comfortable doing online banking, for example, but did not get the point of "social grooming" in general, and especially online. Here's the abstract: This paper explores the rapid adoption of online social network sites (also known as social networking sites) (SNSs) by students on a US college campus. Using quantitative (n=713) and qualitative (n = 51) data based on a diverse sample of college students, demographic and other characteristics of SNS users and non-users are compared. Starting with the theoretical frameworks of Robin Dunbar and Erving Goffman, this paper situates SNS activity under two rubrics: (1) social grooming; and (2) presentation of the self. This study locates these sites within the emergence of social computing and makes a conceptual distinction between the expressive Internet, the Internet of social interactions, and the instrumental Internet, the Internet of airline tickets and weather forecasts. This paper compares and contrasts the user and non-user populations in terms of expressive and instrumental Internet use, social ties and attitudes toward social-grooming, privacy and efficiency. Two clusters are found to influence SNS adoption: attitudes towards social grooming and privacy concerns. It is especially found that non-users display an attitude towards social grooming (gossip, small-talk and generalized, non-functional people-curiosity) that ranges from incredulous to hostile. Contrary to expectations, non-users do not report a smaller number of close friends compared with users, but they do keep in touch with fewer people. Users of SNS are also heavier users of the expressive Internet, while there is no difference in use of instrumental Internet. Gender also emerges as an important predictor. These findings highlight the need to differentiate between the different modalities of Internet use. Best, -z On Sun, Oct 7, 2012 at 10:36 AM, Peter Timusk <ptimusk@sympatico.ca> wrote:
The Canadian Internet Use survey tends to show that those with larger online security concerns are non-users of the Internet.
My sketchy ideas are that privacy is more likely invaded by friends than government or corporate interests on facebook. Friends may not have the same ethical use standards we might practice.
There was a law professor at the university of Ottawa a few years back who also commented on facebook and privacy and did not have a facebook account.
Peter a heavy daily facebook user.
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of William Dutton Sent: October-07-12 6:37 AM To: McLaughlin, Lisa M. Dr. Cc: <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Aoir Subject: Re: [Air-L] Facebook abstainers and refuseniks
An issue tied to not using FB or social media in general is that experience with the Internet shapes beliefs and attitudes about the technology, such as trust. It is what I have called an 'experience technology', and social media, sort of an experience 2.0 technology. Those most concerned over the Internet and social media are non-users. See: Dutton, W. H., and Shepherd, A. (2006), 'Trust in the Internet as an Experience Technology', Information, Communication and Society, 9(4): 433-51. That said, I am sympathetic, as I attempted to avoid having a TV in my home for years, but received many TVs as gifts.
On 7 Oct 2012, at 04:05, McLaughlin, Lisa M. Dr. wrote:
This is just an idea, but it may be interesting to look into the reaction, often hostile, that greets those of us who don't use Facebook. I teach a course that highlights new ICT/social media and I often am asked how I can teach such a course without ever having had a Facebook page (or tweeted!). My rote, however simplistic, response usually is that I don't have a Facebook page because I *do* teach a course that focuses on social media, and my tendency to be a cautious consumer now is on full display.
Still, one thing that intrigues me is that the majority of individuals with whom I have such conversations seem to range from their being annoyed to angry upon learning that I don't have a Facebook page. I recently recovered from a serious illness, and one reaction that surprised me was that I often was pressed to get a Facebook page so that I could share "my progress" with "friends" and "family."
In fact, my feeling is that I wished to protect my privacy (and continue to feel this way), and I had to beg my siblings to not post "updates" on "my progress" on their own Facebook pages.
I have begun to think about the refusal to have a Facebook page as something interpreted as a form of rebellion (however slight compared to Tiananmen Square) or transgression with the result that many folks feel that they must discipline and punish. My question: Why is this happening? Worded differently, this may be a good research question.
Best,
Lisa
-- Lisa McLaughlin, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Mass Communication & Program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Co-editor, Feminist Media Studies Miami University-Ohio
Contact: Mass Communication Williams Hall Miami University-Ohio Oxford, Ohio 45056 USA Tele: 513-529-3547 Fax: 513-529-1835 Email: mclauglm@muohio.edu
On 10/6/12 5:26 AM, "Nicholas John" <nicholas.john@mail.huji.ac.il> wrote:
Hello Researchers of the Internet I wonder if anyone knows of any studies of people who *don't* use Facebook as a matter of choice? I'm doing a study of my own and want to make sure I've got the background literature covered. Thanks in advance, Nicholas _______________ Dr. Nicholas John sociothink.com share.sociothink.com @nicholasajohn Latest article: Sharing and Web 2.0: The emergence of a keyword<http://nms.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/07/03/1461444812450 684>, New Media & Society _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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William H. Dutton Professor of Internet Studies Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford 1 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3JS UNITED KINGDOM
Tel +44 (0)1865 287 210 Fax +44 (0)1865 287 211 Cell +44 (0)7768 823906 Web: http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/dutton/about/ You can access my papers on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=478025 Forthcoming: The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199589074.do
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-- Zeynep Tufekci, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina Fellow, Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society zeynep at unc.edu or @techsoc http://www.technosociology.org