Communication Privacy Management

A map of the way people manage privacy and how an individual decides to share private information.

Principle #1 : People believe they own and have a right to control their own private information.
Principle #2 : People control their private information through the use of personal privacy rules.
Principle #3 : When others are told or given access to private information, they become co-owners of that information
Principle #4 : Co-owners of private information have to negotiate mutually agreeable privacy rules about telling others.
Principle #5 : Boundary turbulence results from co-owners not following previously negotiated rules.

Privacy : The feeling that one has the right to own private information.

Private Information : Beyond the typical secret, information that deeply matters to someone. This could be medical information, a traumatic event that an individual went through, or just a simple secret about how they cheated on their significant other.

Privacy Boundaries : Borders individuals create between their public and private information. These can range from being thin, allowing private information to be known by the public or thick being a brick wall protecting important private information. After disclosing (sharing) private information with others, these borders are actively being reshaped. These boundaries also change as we get older and obtain more private information.

Rules Based Theory : A theory that assumes we can best understand people's freely chosen actions if we study the system of rules they use to interpret and manage their lives. There are five factors that play a role into the way an individual develops their own rules.

Co-Owner : The act of disclosing private information with another individual creates a co-owner, who can't take back the private information. The individual can willingly or reluctantly become a co-owner.

Shareholder : This is a co-owner who is fully committed to handling private information according to the original owner's privacy rules. Basically this is a person who is dedicated to following the rules the owner of the information made.

Deliberate Confidant : An individual who seeked out the private information, this person is more than likely always looking for the new gossip.

Reluctant Confidant : A co-owner of private information who did not seek it out nor want the private information. This could be a burden knowing this private information for this individual.

1. Culture : Using appropriate social behavior for the culture we are in. Each culture differs on the value of being open about private information or keeping it to ourselves. The United States being very individualistic means we have high value for keeping our private information to ourselves and preserving privacy. This could the deciding factor in whether or not to disclose at work based on if the workplace has an open door policy or is known for shoving incidents under the rug.
2. Gender : Men and women share private information differently, but both are more willing and comfortable to disclose information to a woman.
3. Motivation : The incentive to either share private information to others or to not to. Expressive Needs motivates an individual to disclose information simply to fulfill their need to express feelings and let it off their chest. Self-knowledge motivates an individual to share information in order to learn more about themself. Self-defense motivates an individual to not share information by avoiding the matter completely if there is a potential risk.
4. Context : Traumatic events can temporarily or permanently wipe out the influence of culture, gender, or motivation when developing privacy rules.
5. Risk / Benefit : Deciding on whether to disclose by weighing the risks and benefits. There could be a possible gain of self-clarification, expression, social validation, or relationship development. However, there could be many risks including, relational risks, role risks, and security risks.

Collective Privacy Boundary : Defined as an intersection of personal privacy boundaries of co-owners of private information, all of whom are responsible for the private information. In other words it is the boundary in which both individuals co-own the private information.

Mutual Privacy Boundary : Synchronized collective privacy boundary that co-owners share because they negotiated common privacy rules. In other words, co-owners share the same privacy boundary and privacy rules about private information they share together.

Boundary Linkage : An alliance formed by co-owners of private information as to who else is allowed to know the private information.

Boundary Permeability : The extent to which a boundary permites private information to flow to third parties. There are privacy rules that are created to act as filters that allows certain private information to third parties, while other related facets are closely guarded.

Boundary Turbulence : Disruption of privacy management and relational trust that occurs when collective privacy boundaries aren't synchronized. Basically, when a co-owner doesn't follow the privacy rules set about private information which leads to distrust from the original owner.

Intentional Breaches : The release of private information on purpose which is most commonly done by mandated reporters.

Mistake Breaches : An error in judgement or timing and accidentally allowing private information to be heard by others.

Boundary turbulence is seen throughout this entire video. Everytime one of the characters would share a secret about another individual in the friend group, there was a break of trust and boundary linkage. The characters were sharing each other's private information on purpose making it an intentional breach. During the end of the video, mistake breach can be seen when Monica spills a secret about Chandler on accident when fighting with her brother, Ross. All of the characters would be considered deliberate confidant because they are all seeking out the private information each other has about one another.

This theory could be beneficial to everyone informed about it, but more specifically individuals who have a past of health issues. An individual who is disabled may not want to disclose the real facts on what happened to them because they fear there are far too many risks than benefits from sharing their story. This theory could help that individual in deciding who can know his private information and how he can manage that. By using boundary permeability the individual could allow parts of his story to be known by others, but maybe keep the facts that are more personal to himself.

Privacy, Disability, and Family

Hays and Butauski (2018) sought to understand how parents manage the private information about their child's autism diagnosis. They conducted this research through a cross - sectional survey that they had many parents take. The researchers found that parents often anticipate boundary turbulence leading to distrust in others. They also found that the private information is usually only revealed to intermediate family and medical professionals to manage the information better.

This study shows that parents use Communication Privacy Management Theory to manage their child's private information. They do this by making the privacy boundary walls very thick and full of privacy rules. By feeling like they have the right to manage their private information, they feel more safe.

To Reveal or Conceal : Communication Privacy Management Theory at the Workplace

Smith and Brunner (2017) wanted to understand the decision making process from employees when disclosing at the workplace. They conducted this research through an online survey with open-ended questions from 103 employees from different organizations. The researchers found that certain criteria motivate the employees on either disclosing or not at work. This includes the culture of the workplace, risk/benefit considerations, and the privacy rules set in place already.

This study shows that Communication Privacy Management is used more times than not when employees are deciding on whether or not to disclose private information at the workplace. A manager could use this theory to make sure the culture of their workplace is a safe place that their employees feel comfortable sharing at.

Privacy Principles Influencing Employees' Information Sharing on Enterprise Social Media

Laitinen and Sivunen (2018) sought to understand privacy principles influence an employees information sharing on enterprise social media. They conducted this by interviewing employees at a large media organization. The researchers found that the privacy boundaries, technological privacy, professional roles, and intended audience all influence the information sharing behavior of employees.

This study shows that many people stop and think before posting information on social media. Communication Privacy Management Theory is used everyday when people are deciding whether or not they should post online. This is becoming a lot more common with college students keeping their social media account clean and appropriate while on the search for an internship or job.

Hays, A., & Butauski, M. (2018). Privacy, disability, and family: Exploring the privacy management behaviors of a parents with a child with autism. Western Journal of Communication, 82(3), 376-391. doi: 10.1080/10570314.2017.1398834

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Laitinen, K., & Sivunen, A. (2018). Privacy principles and technological affordances shaping employees' information sharing in enterprise social media. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-31.

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Smith, S. A., & Brunner, S. R. (2017). To reveal or conceal: Using communication privacy management theory to understand disclosures in the workplace. Management Communication Quarterly, 31(3), 429-446. doi: 10.1177/0893318917692896

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