Taking Stock of Social Media Privacy: Meta-Analytic Evidence on the Association Between Control, Trust and Concerns with Social Media Use, Disclosure, and Protection

Social media users face uncertainty regarding the flow and use of their data. They engage in a variety of privacy behaviors, such as how much social media they use, their disclosures, or privacy protection, while considering their options—for example, whether they can trust certain providers, whether they feel in control over privacy settings, or how strongly they should feel concerned. This study provides a meta-analysis of relationships between the key mechanisms for users’ privacy decisions (i.e., control, trust, concerns) and their subsequent behaviors (i.e., social media use, disclosure, privacy protection). We draw on the findings of 79 studies that have been conducted between 2016 and 2025 with N = 51,086 respondents. Our results demonstrate that users who trust are most likely to use social networking sites and disclose about themselves online. In contrast, feeling in control and being concerned about privacy drives users to engage in targeted privacy behaviors.