Authors
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Justin C. Velten
The University of Texas at Tyler
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Rauf Arif
The University of Texas at Tyler
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Delane Moehring
The University of Texas at Tyler
Keywords:
Snapchat, Privacy, Privacy Boundaries, Ownership, Control, Turbulence, Social Media
Abstract
The rise of online human communication tools commonly referred to as social media apps are changing the dynamics of interpersonal relationships through self-disclosure and privacy management. However, little scholarly research is speaking to the broader role of social media as a method of privacy management in the context of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, this study focuses on Snapchat, a smartphone photo-share app and its influences on privacy management and privacy boundaries centered around the process of building and strengthening relationships through disclosure of private information. Using qualitative interview technique, results from 75 Snapchat users led to the identification and discussion of three categories related to Communication Privacy Management Theory: privacy ownership, privacy control, and privacy turbulence. Finally, this investigation explores and describes a new way in which scholars can view Snapchat through McLuhan’s claim that the medium is the message.
Author Biographies
Justin C. Velten, The University of Texas at Tyler
Dr. Justin Velten serves as Assistant Professor of Communication at The University of Texas at Tyler, where he teaches courses on Intercultural, Interpersonal, and Persuasive Communication. Before coming to UT Tyler, Dr. Velten served as Major Gifts Officer with Herald of Truth Ministries, an expatriate-focused Christian media missions organizations and Go Culture International Coach for expatriates preparing for international and intercultural experiences. His research interests lie within intercultural readiness training within education and missions as well as student engagement through service-learning. He has assisted the UT Tyler Global Awareness Through Education (GATE) program with intercultural readiness training and program assessment and has presented Service-Learning research in Canada and as well as Intercultural Communication research at the International Communication Association conference in Lodz, Poland, and was invited to speak at the International Intercultural Communication Scholars conference in Hong Kong and the Modern Society in the Context of Multicultural Communication conference in Moscow, Russia. Dr. Velten has also published research manuscripts in various areas related to the field of Communication.
Rauf Arif, The University of Texas at Tyler
Dr. Rauf Arif is an assistant professor at the Department of Communication, University of Texas at Tyler. Born in Pakistan, Arif worked as a news reporter in Islamabad, Pakistan for over eight years, both for print and electronic media including the CNBC Pakistan TV. Arif received his MS in Mass Communication (2007-09) from the University of Kansas, and a Ph. D in Mass Communication & Journalism (2009-2014) from the University of Iowa. His vivid political observations on US-Pakistan relations have appeared in national and international media. A former Fulbright scholar, Arif has a number of publications focusing on the role of communication in healthcare sector, cross-cultural media practices, mediated public diplomacy, and the changing trends of Pakistani media in the post-9/11 era. Currently, his research is focused on devising communication strategies for improving the quality of life in terms of providing better healthcare to the citizens; the use of social media and public diplomacy to promote friendly relations between the United States and the Muslim World. Arif is also working on a book project that focuses on social media and social movements in non-Western societies such as the Middle East.
Delane Moehring, The University of Texas at Tyler
Mrs. Moehring is a graduate of Colorado State University - Pueblo and is an Adjunct Professor of Communication at The University of Texas at Tyler.
