“It’s So Difficult to Sever that Connection”: The Role of FoMO in Users’ Reluctant Privacy Behaviours

Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence of a link between the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and reluctant privacy behaviours, to help explain a gap between users’ privacy attitudes and their behaviours online (also known as the Privacy Paradox). Using Grounded Theory, we interviewed 25 participants and created a high-level empirically-grounded theory of the relationship between FoMO and reluctant privacy behaviours. We identify three main dimensions in which users feel pressured to participate even when they have privacy concerns, to avoid missing out. We discuss the implications of these results on the design of technologies, and how they may indicate systemic dark design.