Ethics in Social Networking: A Framework for Evaluating Online Information Disclosure

Participation and membership in social networking sites has exploded in the past several years. Services such as Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn have evolved from niche communities to active societies. In addition to an increase in usage rates among certain demographic groups, there has also been an increase in the amount and type of information participants freely reveal. In this paper, we integrate decision making research from marketing, theology and privacy literature to explain information disclosure in online communities. In particular, we use Potter´s Box to propose a framework for evaluating the ethical implications of online information disclosure. Implications for research and practice are discussed.