Authors:
Shang Gao
1
and
Xuemei Zhang
2
Affiliations:
1
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
;
2
Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China
Keyword(s):
Location Sharing Services, Social Networking Platforms, Check-in, Privacy, Contextual Integrity.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Cloud Computing
;
Collaboration and e-Services
;
Data Communication Networking
;
e-Business
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Platforms and Applications
;
Social Networks
;
Telecommunications
;
Usability
;
Usability and Ergonomics
;
Web Information Systems and Technologies
;
Web Interfaces and Applications
Abstract:
Along with the development of information communication technology, there are more and more location
sharing services on social networking platforms. Although China has the largest number of internet users in
the world, users just started to use location sharing services in the last three years. This study aims to
investigate why and how people use location sharing services on social networking platforms in China. To
address this, four research questions are presented and 43 in-depth face-to-face interviews are carried out in
China. Our results indicated that most users were concerned about privacy issues when they were using
location sharing services on social networking platforms. Somewhat surprisingly, some of the interviewees
indicated that they were not aware of the availability of the location sharing services on social networking
platforms and they did not know how to use location sharing services. Furthermore, with respect to privacy
protection, most interviewees indicated th
at WeChat did a better job than Weibo in China. Lastly, the results
revealed that users wanted to use authority management to deal with private issues raised by the shared
location information on social networking platforms.
(More)