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The Privacy Mismatch: Evolved Intuitions in a Digital World
Azim Shariff1, Joe Green2, William Jettinghoff1
1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia.
Current Directions in Psychological Science
|May 17, 2021
Summary
People express concern over data privacy but fail to protect it. This privacy paradox stems from an evolutionary mismatch between ancient privacy instincts and modern online threats.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Data Privacy
Background:
- Despite widespread concern regarding data privacy, individuals exhibit minimal protective behaviors.
- This discrepancy is termed the 'privacy paradox'.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explain the privacy paradox by examining the evolutionary origins of privacy psychology.
- To understand how evolved psychological mechanisms contribute to online privacy risks.
Main Methods:
- The study proposes an evolutionary psychology framework to analyze the privacy paradox.
- It contrasts ancestral environments with the contemporary digital landscape.
Main Results:
- Privacy intuitions evolved in environments vastly different from the current online world.
- This evolutionary mismatch disconnects individuals from the real consequences of online privacy threats.
Conclusions:
- The privacy paradox is partly explained by an evolutionary mismatch in privacy psychology.
- Understanding this mismatch is crucial for addressing online data privacy challenges.
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