We're in it together

Abstract

The workload needed for managing privacy and publicness in current social network services (SNSs) is placed on individuals, yet people have few means to control what others disclose about them. This paper considers SNS-users' concerns in relation to online disclosure and the ways in which they cope with these both individually and collaboratively. While previous work has focused mainly on individual coping strategies, our findings from a qualitative study with 27 participants suggest that collaborative strategies in boundary regulation are of additional importance. We present a framework of strategies for boundary regulation that informs both theoretical work and design practice related to management of disclosure in SNSs. The framework considers disclosure as an interpersonal process of boundary regulation, in which people are dependent on what others choose to disclose about them. The paper concludes by proposing design solutions supportive of collaborative and preventive strategies in boundary regulation that facilitate the management of disclosure online.