Taking stock of social media privacy: meta-analytic evidence on how control, trust, and concerns are associated with social media use, disclosure, and protection

Abstract Social media users face uncertainty regarding the flow and use of their data. They engage in a variety of privacy behaviors, such as limiting how much social media they use, controlling what they disclose, and protecting their privacy, while considering their options—for example, deciding whether they can trust certain providers, whether they feel that they have control over their privacy settings, or how much concern they should feel. This study provides a meta-analysis of relationships between key factors that are relevant for users’ privacy decisions (e.g., control, trust, concerns) and their subsequent behaviors (e.g., social networking site use, disclosure, privacy protection). We drew on the findings of 79 studies that were conducted between 2016 and 2025 with N = 51,085 respondents. Our results demonstrate that users who trust are most likely to use social networking sites and to disclose information online. By contrast, feeling that one has control and being concerned about privacy drives users to engage in targeted privacy behaviors. We derive information for literacy training and policymaking and highlight why it is time to overcome the limited conceptual bandwidth and the disproportionate focus on negatively framed concepts of privacy.