Data colonialism on Facebook for personalised advertising: The discrepancy of privacy concerns and the privacy paradox

Abstract

In the digital era, Facebook serves as one of the leading sources of personal data and monetises that information for advertising purposes. This study aims to investigate users' perceptions regarding personal data collection and privacy concerns on Facebook and to explore the mediation between privacy concerns and the privacy paradox in relation to personalised advertising outcomes. To address this gap, data was collected through a mixed-method approach by conducting an online survey with 155 respondents, followed by five in-depth semi-structured interviews. The study indicated that most respondents were concerned about their personal information being aggregated and monetised by Facebook without users' consent. Most survey respondents never/rarely clicked on Facebook advertising formats such as photo, video, stories, messenger, carousel, slideshow, collection and playable advertising. However, survey and interview data divulged that they sometimes clicked on and engaged in influencer advertising because they regarded this content as informative, attractive and reliable for product reviews. The study discovered that respondents felt ambivalent towards personalised advertising and sometimes traded their privacy to get immediate benefits from the advertising. Their privacy decision-making process was affected by a cost–benefit calculation, which resulted in what is known as the ‘privacy paradox’, where an individual intentionally divulges personal information on social media despite stating privacy concerns.