I Interview Guide
Introduction and Assent
Hi, my name is Jessica. I am a student at Carleton University. Today, we are going to talk about privacy on [SNS]. During the session, we will look at a [SNS] user’s profile and watch some video messages describing different online social situations. I will ask you to give some advice about what the person should do in each situation. I will also ask you about your own experiences using [SNS].
Today’s session will take about 30 minutes to complete. I will record your voice so that I remember your comments. If you don’t want me to record your voice, please let me know.
The information you will share with me will be safely locked up. No one will hear what you said except for me and my supervisor. Just remember, I am not testing you—I just want to hear your thoughts and opinions.
You have the choice to do this study or not; it is entirely up to you. You can say okay now and change your mind later. All you have to do is tell me that you want to stop. It really is okay to say stop.
To thank you for your help, I will give you $30 cash. You can keep the money even if you decide to stop the study.
Do you have any questions? Remember that you can ask questions at any time.
Do you agree to participate in this study?
Do you agree to be audio-recorded?
Scenarios
Okay, great! So, here is the scenario for this part of the session: An [SNS] user named Allie is looking for advice about how to protect her privacy on the site. This is her account. Allie has left a few video messages with her questions for us to watch and discuss.
This part of the session will go as follows: I will play the video messages one at a time, asking you a few questions after each one. Feel free to look through Allie’s profile or others’ if that would help you to answer the question.
Understand?
Great! Here is the first scenario:
Scenario 1 (Dog Photo)
Video description: The video shows the character’s screen, as she scrolls through her uploaded photos. She opens up a photo of her with her face cropped out holding a puppy. While this is happening on screen, she excitedly says:
“Oh my gosh! Guess what? My parents just got me a new puppy: see?! I’m so excited! I really want to share this news. Who should I share this with?
1)
Who should she share the picture with?
2)
Should she share the picture on [SNS]? (Would you?)
3)
Do you post pictures of yourself on [SNS]?
(a)
If yes:
•
Who do you want to see your pictures?
•
Is there anyone you would not like to see your pictures?
◦
If yes: Do you do anything to make sure that they can’t see your pictures?
(b)
If no:
•
Do you post any other kinds of pictures on [SNS]? If so, what kinds of pictures do you post?
4)
Apart from pictures, is there anything else that you share on [SNS]?
5)
Do you share personal identifying information on [SNS]? (e.g., real name, email address, location/city)
Scenario 2 (Stranger)
Video description: The video shows the character’s SNS profile. She clicks on her notifications to show the viewer that someone she does not know has started following her. She then clicks on the unknown user’s profile, which has some inspirational quotes, nature and music-related photos posted on there. While this is happening, she says:
“Hi again! So, I just got this notification on my [SNS] feed. It says that someone named Josh Forrester is now following me. I’ve never met this guy before in real life. I took a look at his profile page. It looks like we have a lot in common, but I don’t know if I should let him follow me. What should I do?”
1)
What should Allie do? Is that what you would do in this situation? (If no: What would you do?)
2)
Does it matter that she doesn’t know the person in real life? Why or why not?
3)
Do you have any followers on [SNS] who you do not know in real life?
(a)
If yes:
•
Do you consider them to be your friends? Why or why not?
◦
Do you have online friends on other SNS?
•
Do you talk to them, through comments or direct messages?
◦
What kinds of things do you talk about?
◦
Is there anything you avoid talking about with your online friends?
Scenario 3 (Embarrassing Photo)
Video description: The video shows the character’s screen as she scrolls through her SNS feed. She finds the picture that she’s looking for, which is of her dancing in her pajamas. While this is happening, she says:
“Hey! So, I was scrolling through my feed and noticed that my friend posted a very embarrassing picture of me. I don’t want this picture of me online, but I don’t know what to do. What do you think I should do?
1)
What should Allie do? Is that what you would do? (If no: What would you do?)
2)
What difference does it make if others see the picture? (Would you care if that happened to you?)
3)
Are there any pictures of you on [SNS] that you wish were not online?
(a)
If yes:
•
Why are they still online?
•
Is there anything that you can do to take the pictures off of the site?
Scenario 4 (Private Account)
Video description: The video shows the character’s screen, as she clicks back and forth a couple of times between her feed and her profile. While this is happening, she says:
“Hi again! So, my friend told me that there’s a way to make my account private, so that only my friends can see my posts. I don’t know how to set my account to private. Do you?”
(1)
Do you know how to make her account private?
Can you show me how to do it?
Who taught you how to do that?
2)
Is your [SNS] profile set to private? (If no: Why not?)
Scenario 5 (Other)
Video description: The video just shows the character’s profile. She says:
“Hey! Thanks for all of your help. Here’s my last question: So, I’m trying to figure out how to set up my profile so that only the right people can see my information. Is there anything else that you do to keep your information safe?”
1)
Is there anything else that you do to keep your information safe?
2)
Who taught you about online privacy? What kinds of things did they teach you?
•
What does “online privacy” mean to you?
3)
Do you wish that you knew more about online privacy, or are you happy with how much you know?
Post-Scenario Interview
Social Media Use
1)
When do you use [SNS]? (How often do you use it?)
2)
What do you do on [SNS], apart from posting stuff?
3)
Does anyone help you to use [SNS]?
a.
If yes:
•
What do they help you to do?
4)
Apart from [SNS], what social networking sites do you use?
Demographic Questions
2)
Are you a boy, a girl or non-binary?
3)
What devices do you use to go online?
4)
Do you have Internet at home? (If no: Where do you access the Internet?)
Debriefing Script
Thank you very much for participating! The goal of this research was to better understand how teenagers, like you, protect their privacy on social networking sites. Your thoughts, comments and opinions are very valuable to my research.
At the beginning of the study, I made it seem like the profile that we were looking at together belongs to a real person. In reality, the profile was created for the purpose of our study. I needed the scenarios to be as realistic as possible for you. Is it okay if we still keep your answers to our questions?
Before we wrap up, do you have any questions for me?
