Factors Influencing Online Identity Falsification Among Israeli Students in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim/Purpose: The research examines the main factors that motivate users to provide falsified details upon website registration and identifies the types of personal details that are most prone to falsification. In addition, the tendency for identity falsification is predicted by examining various factors, such as, sense of online anonymity, privacy concern, and socio-demographic factors. To provide a contemporaneous dimension to the research, those issues are investigated in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and examine its influence on privacy concerns and the willingness to expose personal details. Background: Many users choose to deliberately falsify their details during online activities. Methodology: To assess this claim, a user study was carried out among 245 students of the Israeli academia, comprising 52.2% men and 47.8% women, with ages ranging from 18 to 60 years. The research applied a quantitative method using online closed-ended questionnaires. The results were analyzed using conventional statistical methods, such as t-tests and ANOVA. To predict the tendency of identity falsification upon website registration, a logistic regression analysis was performed, taking into account various independent variables: sense of anonymity on websites; sense of exposure to other users online; privacy concern; Internet proficiency; various demographic factors: gender, age, and education. Findings: The research findings suggest that privacy-related issues are the most prevalent for identity falsification. In addition, logistic regression showed that the higher the privacy concerns rates, the higher the chance for identity falsification.