2025.Feb.04

REPORTS

Report on the 32nd B’AI Book Club (※Research Presentation)
“Location-Sharing and Privacy Attitudes Among Youth: A Comparative Study of Japan and the U.K.”

On October 22, 2024, the 32nd session of the “B’AI Book Club” was held in a hybrid format. Zhang Jingyu and Hiramatsu Risa presented their ongoing research titled “The Use and Impact of Location-Sharing Social Media Among Youth: A Comparative Study of Japan and the U.K.”

The use of location information is pervasive in many areas of the digital society, and social media with location-sharing functions, such as Zenly and Instagram, are particularly popular among young people. At the same time, however, the lack of transparency regarding information security surrounding the use of location data has heightened concerns about online privacy. This raises the question, “Why do young people choose to share their location information despite being aware of the risks? ” As the concept of the “privacy paradox” indicates (Dienlin & Trepte 2015), young people express anxiety about their online privacy, yet they proactively disclose personal information on the Internet. This study focuses on this contradiction, examining how young people’s privacy awareness is reflected in their use of social media with location-sharing features. By understanding the realities of youth location-sharing practices through social media, the study aims to explore the transformation of privacy awareness in the digital age.

The significance of young people’s use of location sharing functions and how they are used have been studied (Chang＆Chen 2014, Beldad＆Kusumadewi 2015, Arai, 2023). In recent years, the research focus has further shifted toward privacy and safety risks (Li 2020, Centelles et al., 2021). However, there are still few studies that compare young people’s tendency in using location sharing services by their residential location. Therefore, this study set the research question, “How are the privacy attitudes of young people in Japan and the UK reflected in their use of social media with location-sharing features?” and conducted a qualitative survey.

The research method involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 22 people, 12 in their 20s living in Japan and 10 in their 20s living in the UK, between November 2023 and August 2024, for a total of 1 to 2 hours per person. After transcribing the interview sound recordings, they were coded and analyzed using MAXQDA (qualitative and mixed methods data analysis software).

The results of the study revealed the following findings regarding the usage of social media with location-sharing features in the two regions. Japanese youth primarily use platforms such as Instagram, Zenly, Whoo, and BeReal, while in the U.K., Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Life360 are more commonly used. As a commonality, in both Japan and the U.K., location-sharing was most frequently used with friends, followed by romantic partners and family members. However, distinct regional differences were also observed. Japanese youth use social media with location-sharing features primarily to strengthen friendships and enhance social interactions, finding value in utilizing these platforms as tools for building trust through self-disclosure. In contrast, in the U.K., there was a greater emphasis on functionality, with location-sharing often being used for practical purposes such as meeting up or safety confirmation. Concerns were also raised about the potential for these features to become tools for control and domination in close relationships. These findings suggest that while location-sharing among friends is used in Japan as a tool to deepen intimacy, in the U.K., it is perceived as a result or byproduct of close relationships.

Second, regarding differences in privacy awareness, the results were similar to those of Fujita and Suzuki’s (2023) study, revealing that Japanese youth were less resistant to providing location information and relatively less privacy conscious than British youth due to differences in the security environment of society as a whole and their wariness of providing information. This difference is suggested to stem from the fact that in the U.K., privacy education is provided from an early age, as well as a growing societal tension in recent years regarding surveillance by corporations and the government. Furthermore, while Haffner et al. (2018) found that women disclosed location information more frequently and were relatively less privacy conscious, in this study, women’s responses tended to emphasize safety aspects in particular. In sum, while in Japan, location information is used for the purpose of strengthening friendships and socializing, in the UK, it tends to be used mainly for functional needs. It also became clear that the way of use and significance of social media with location-sharing functions among youth also differs between Japan and the UK.

The novelty of this study is that social media services with the same functionality are used differently in different communities and regions for reasons such as culture and city safety, and that the existence and degree of the privacy paradox varies depending on factors such as social conditions and education in one’s place of residence. Due to the limited sample size and survey methodology, the results of this study cannot be generalized and will need to be examined in future studies.

We would like to thank all the comments and advice received during this session. In future research, we aim to explore the causes from perspectives such as the nature of friendships, culture, and social conditions in each region, focusing on the theme of youth and online privacy.