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Social Media User Privacy at Forefront of Annual Conference

Michelle Quinn

   SAN FRANCISCO - When the first [1]International Conference on Social
   Media and Society was held in 2010, social media firms like Facebook,
   Twitter and others were seen in mostly a positive light, as a novel way
   of empowering and connecting people.

   Now as the conference kicks off its 10th anniversary in Toronto, Canada
   on July 19, the theme is privacy and trust, reflecting users' growing
   ambivalence about social media, said Anatoliy Gruzd, an associate
   professor at Ryerson University and the event's organizer.

   "People are realizing the importance of the platforms and the potential
   negative impact on their lives and their communities," he said. The
   effects can be societal, personal and political, he said.

   The conference comes as governments, nonprofits and consumers grapple
   with the negative effects of social media. President Donald Trump
   recently held a summit on social media at the White House, claiming
   that Twitter, Facebook and others are biased against him and
   conservative voices.

   Now social media research, a field that didn't exist before the
   mid-2000s, touches on almost every aspect of life. "We feel our work
   has a direct relationship to what is happening now rather than
   historical events," Gruzd said.

   Teens' ambivalence about social media

   Valerie Steeves, a professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the
   conference's keynote speakers, said teens and young adults are more
   careful now about how they present themselves online compared to 10
   years ago. The event's keynote talks will be [2]livestreamed on
   YouTube.

   "In 2000, teens were going online because it was the cool place to be,"
   she said. "Now they have to be on, it's infrastructure they have to
   use."

   And teens are ambivalent about being there. "They are very careful
   about how they post," she said. Among their concerns-- their data being
   "grabbed by a corporation," she said. In a recent study of 5,500
   children ages 11 to 17 in Canada, 95 percent said they didn't think
   marketers should be able see the content they post online.

References

   1. https://socialmediaandsociety.org/
   2. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgnJ974MxLvUu2LlxCpodYg

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