IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v72y2026i3p679-686.html

Privacy: Impact of Social Media—A Study on University Students

Author

Listed:
  • Donatella Marazziti
  • Francesca Diolaiuti
  • Riccardo Gurrieri
  • Manuel Glauco Carbone
  • Roberto Di Quirico
  • Andrea Pozza
  • Federico Mucci

Abstract

The study investigates how social media affects privacy perceptions among university students, combining a historical perspective on privacy with contemporary data on young adults; interactions with digital platforms. An online survey of 219 students (122 women and 97 men) assessed their awareness of social media’s overt and hidden influences on personal decisions and privacy concerns. Statistical analyses included t -tests, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests, χ² tests, and correlation measures. Results highlighted significant gender differences. Women were more aware of social media’s influence (54.9% vs. 38.1% of men) and expressed greater privacy concerns (41.8% vs. 36.1%). These findings emphasize the need for gender-sensitive educational initiatives to improve privacy awareness and inform policies to safeguard user rights. Further research is recommended to explore broader demographics for a comprehensive understanding of social media’s impact on privacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Donatella Marazziti & Francesca Diolaiuti & Riccardo Gurrieri & Manuel Glauco Carbone & Roberto Di Quirico & Andrea Pozza & Federico Mucci, 2026. "Privacy: Impact of Social Media—A Study on University Students," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 72(3), pages 679-686, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:3:p:679-686
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640251379130
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640251379130
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00207640251379130?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:3:p:679-686. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.