Privacy risk perception and privacy disclosure behavior among college students: the mediating role of online social anxiety and the moderating role of privacy cynicism.

BACKGROUND: Social media is a key platform for college students' daily communication. However, frequent online fraud incidents have raised widespread concern. Interestingly, many users' high-risk perception does not prevent them from continuing to disclose personal information. To further explore the privacy paradox among college students on current social networks, this study examines the relationship between college students' privacy risk perception and privacy disclosure behavior, as well as the mechanisms of online social anxiety and privacy cynicism. METHODS: A survey was conducted among 1, 276 college students using the Perceived Privacy Risk Measurement Scale, Privacy Disclosure Behavior Scale, Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users, and Privacy Cynicism Scale. RESULTS: Privacy risk perception is significantly and positively associated with college students' privacy disclosure behavior. Online social anxiety partially mediated the relationship between privacy risk perception and privacy disclosure behavior. Privacy cynicism significantly moderated the effects of privacy risk perception on online social anxiety and privacy disclosure behavior. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the interaction between emotion and cognitive attitude in college students' privacy decision-making, providing a new perspective for cybersecurity education.