Social Media And The New Borders Of Privacy From The Viewpoint Of Generations

As an extension of the social media, social networking sites have started to be commonly used by every age group as a way of communication and to replace real life relationships. As the time spent on social media platforms increase, the aspects of the interaction among individuals also differ. This variation also affects privacy, which is a central concept in social relationships.Characteristics specific to the social media environment and the way of communication also influence the shared content that enables the continuity of the existence of individuals and the relationships they establish in this medium. On social media, individuals from different age groups show their difference from other individuals and extraordinariness through their personal life experiences. Thus, issues that are regarded to be within the private domain become visible in this virtual medium, which is open to the access of everyone. Within this scope, the basic hypothesis of the study is that the borders of privacy shrink within itself while they expand towards being public-explicit on the social media. The basic argument of the study is discussed in terms of the generation categories classified in line with the developments in information and communication technologies, and it is endeavored to determine whether there are any differences among the privacy attitudes and behaviors of different generations. The sample of this descriptive study consisted of 736 (according to processed questionnaire forms) participants from the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y who used any of the social media tools. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire conducted in the province center of Konya between the dates of June 1-September 15, 2015. As the result of the study, it is concluded that gender categories have similar tendencies in social network communication, transformation has started in the privacy attitudes and behaviors of each generation, and generation characteristics also have a certain effect on this transformation.