Personality Associations With WhatsApp Usage and Usage of Alternative Messaging Applications to Protect One’s Own Data
Abstract
Abstract. Data protection became an increasingly important topic in today’s digital society. With regard to messaging applications, WhatsApp especially has been at the center of discussion. Despite the existence of alternative messaging applications seemingly protecting one’s data more than WhatsApp does, individuals seem to rarely use these alternatives. The present study, therefore, investigated personality differences between individuals using WhatsApp versus alternative messaging applications which are deemed more protective of one’s data. A total of N = 7,874 individuals (n = 3,992 men) participated in the present online survey. All of them provided information on whether they used WhatsApp and/or an alternative messaging application because WhatsApp was deemed to be non-data-protective. Additionally, they completed the Big Five Inventory. Most participants (69.27%) reported using WhatsApp but no alternative messaging application due to data protection concerns. This group showed the lowest scores on Openness. The group using neither WhatsApp nor another messaging application due to data protection concerns regarding WhatsApp showed the lowest scores on Extraversion. The highest scores on Agreeableness were found in the group using WhatsApp and at least one alternative messaging application due to WhatsApp-related data protection concerns. These results reveal initial insights into who is using seemingly data protective versus non-data-protective messaging applications. Personality may not be the only factor influencing the decisions about data protective messaging application use.
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