Creepy or convenient?: Consumer perceptions of privacy and ad exposure on social media

Advancements in technology and access have most consumers utilizing multiple social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter) every day. With the increased use of social media, there is heightened potential consumer risk and misuse of consumers’ demographic and psychographic information by marketers, retailers, and data mining companies. Dissemination of such personal information can result in ‘creepy marketing,’ which takes the form of personalized ads and targeted marketing campaigns. To explore how consumers perceive privacy on social media, this study employed Q methodology. Findings determine four specific perceptions of privacy, which fall along a continuum of being very concerned about all elements of privacy to being concerned about particular aspects of privacy (e.g., microphone tapping, video tapping). One group of participants prioritized personal data protection and privacy, while another participant group focused on the absence of policies and the tracking of geographical locations. There were also participants who were concerned with data collection and online tracking, but less worried about geographical tracking and cyber criminals. Additionally, some highlighted concerns over microphone access and lack of policies. Notably, Generation Z was also the most concerned about privacy out of all of the generations. Based on this study’s findings, retailers are able to establish more targeted privacy policies and practices.