Snap. Share. (Don’t) Care? Ephemerality, Privacy Concerns, and the Use of Ephemeral Social Network Sites

Abstract

Active participation is crucial for any successful social network site. However, privacy concerns may keep individuals from actively using these networks. Ephemerality—a new technical feature—may counteract privacy concerns while driving active usage. The recent success of ephemeral social network sites (ESNS), which build on ephemerality presumably owes to this technical peculiarity. Despite its high practical relevance, little is known about the concept of ephemerality and about how it affects ESNS usage intention. In this paper, we investigate the effect of ephemerality on two crucial determinants of ESNS usage—privacy concerns and enjoyment—and ultimately on the intention to use an ESNS. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and the privacy calculus approach, we develop a research model and test it based on an online survey with 429 participants. We find that perceived ephemerality drives individuals’ ESNS usage intentions by lowering privacy concerns while raising perceived enjoyment.

Full text

Ephemeral Social Network Sites and Privacy Concerns
Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 1
Snap. Share. (Don’t) Care? Ephemerality,
Privacy Concerns, and the Use of Ephemeral
Social Network Sites
Full Paper
Tina Morlok
LMU Munich
morlok@bwl.lmu.de
Kerstin Schneider
LMU Munich
kerstin.schneider@campus.lmu.de
Christian Matt
University of Bern
christian.matt@iwi.unibe.ch
Thomas Hess
LMU Munich
thess@bwl.lmu.de
Abstract
Active participation is crucial for any successful social network site. However, privacy concerns may keep
individuals from actively using these networks. Ephemerality—a new technical feature—may counteract
privacy concerns while driving active usage. The recent success of ephemeral social network sites (ESNS),
which build on ephemerality presumably owes to this technical peculiarity. Despite its high practical
relevance, little is known about the concept of ephemerality and about how it affects ESNS usage
intention. In this paper, we investigate the effect of ephemerality on two crucial determinants of ESNS
usage—privacy concerns and enjoyment—and ultimately on the intention to use an ESNS. Drawing on the
Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and the privacy calculus approach, we develop a
research model and test it based on an online survey with 429 participants. We find that perceived
ephemerality drives individuals’ ESNS usage intentions by lowering privacy concerns while raising
perceived enjoyment.
Keywords
Ephemerality, social network sites, privacy calculus, stimulus-organism-response framework.
Introduction
Active participation is an integral part for any successful social network site (SNS). Yet, privacy concerns
may keep individuals from actively using these networks (Wilson et al. 2014). A new feature seems to
counterbalance these concerns and to drive individuals’ active usage: ephemerality. Ephemerality on
SNSs describes that once shared, information is only available for a specific amount of time or for a
specific number of times to be viewed (Bayer et al. 2015). Ephemeral social network sites (ESNSs) that are
based on this technical peculiarity are growing in popularity (Bayer et al. 2015) and illustrate the potential
of this feature for driving the networks’ success.
Snapchat is currently the most successful ESNS with more than 150 million daily active users worldwide
in 2016 (Frier 2016). In contrast to SNSs like Facebook, where posts are typically persistent and often
visible to a large audience, ESNSs allow users to share time-limited information like pictures and videos
with their social ties (Utz et al. 2015). On Snapchat, there are two types of ephemeral messages: Users can
take pictures or videos and send them as snaps to their friends. They disappear at a maximum of 10
seconds after the receiver opened it (Xu et al. 2016). Users can also combine different pictures into
stories, which are available for the user and his or her friends for 24 hours. This ephemeral nature seems
to drive Snapchat’s success.

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Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 2
SNSs users typically face a trade-off: While individuals want to use SNSs for having fun and for socially
interacting with others (Bayer et al. 2015), they are also concerned about privacy, which may keep them
from actively using an SNS. In the information systems (IS) discipline, extensive research has been
conducted to investigate SNS usage behavior and privacy-related decision-making in this context (Choi et
al. 2015; Wilson et al. 2014). Privacy concerns have been shown to negatively affect SNS usage intention
while benefits, like enjoyment, drive usage intention (Krasnova et al. 2009a; Wilson et al. 2014). Despite
the vast knowledge of individuals’ behaviors on SNSs, literature on ESNS usage is still scarce (Bayer et al.
2015). Little is known about the concept of ephemerality and more specifically, about how it affects
individuals’ ESNS usage intentions. We suggest that the unique technical peculiarity of ESNSs—
ephemerality—may be a key driver of ESNS use, even in the face of potential risks. Based on a privacy
calculus model, which integrates two crucial determinants of SNS usage (privacy concerns, enjoyment),
we investigate the effect of ephemerality on individuals’ ESNS usage intentions and seek to answer the
following research question:
RQ: How and why does perceived ephemerality affect individuals’ ESNS usage intentions?
Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and privacy literature, we develop a
research model for examining how ephemerality—as an environmental stimulus—affects individuals’
ESNS usage intentions. We test our model based on an online survey among 429 participants. Data
analysis is conducted using structural equation modeling.
Theoretical Background
Ephemeral Social Network Sites (ESNSs)
Despite the widespread use of ESNSs like Snapchat, research in this field is still in its infancy. Only
recently, scholars have begun to investigate what drives ESNS usage and what types of content individuals
share on these platforms (Bayer et al. 2015; Roesner et al. 2014). First insights indicate that individuals
perceive social interaction via Snapchat as easier and more enjoyable compared to traditional SNSs like
Facebook. Regarding what types of content are shared on these networks, literature suggests that users
share rather mundane and personal experiences like pictures of daily activities (Bosker 2014; Piwek and
Joinson 2016). Roesner et al. (2014) found that people use Snapchat mainly for sending funny pictures
about themselves or other people. Further, ESNS literature suggests that ephemerality lowers self-
presentational concerns (Roesner et al. 2014; Xu et al. 2016).
Ephemerality represents a key feature of ESNSs like Snapchat and is assumed to drive individuals’ active
usage (Bayer et al. 2015; Piwek and Joinson 2016). Snapchat builds on this technical peculiarity and
promises its users an easy and enjoyable way of social interaction. Snapchat users can share personal
moments by taking pictures with their mobile devices, edit them, and send them as snaps or stories. This
network also provides editing options so that users may add captions, doodles or funny comments to their
pictures and share them with others (Ovide and Molla 2016). With the daily change of lenses (15 to 20
lenses a day) and the editing options, the company seeks to further improve the daily active usage and to
increase the perceived fun associated with the use of this ESNS (Madrigal 2016).
Privacy Calculus and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Framework
Privacy research suggests that individuals perform a trade-off in contexts where their personal
information is concerned, like the use of ESNS (Angst and Agarwal 2009; Wilson et al. 2014). Privacy
literature describes this trade-off as privacy calculus (Dinev and Hart 2006) which helps to understand
individuals’ cognitive evaluation processes (Choi et al. 2015). The privacy calculus represents a popular
framework in privacy research and describes privacy-related behavior as the outcome of a cost-benefit
decision process (Wilson et al. 2014). When deciding on how to handle personal information, individuals
weigh benefits (e.g., perceived enjoyment) related to a behavior (e.g., ESNS usage) against costs, such as
privacy concerns. Several studies have shown that the calculus of privacy concerns and enjoyment drives
usage intention, like in the context of SNS and smartphone use (Choi 2016; Krasnova et al. 2009a).
We draw on the S-O-R framework (Russell and Mehrabian 1977) to integrate the privacy literature and
the specific technical peculiarity of ESNS—ephemerality—to explain how this feature affects ESNs usage
intention through privacy concerns and enjoyment. The S-O-R framework has been widely applied in

Ephemeral Social Network Sites and Privacy Concerns
Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 3
various disciplines such as marketing (Vieira 2013) and IS research (Éthier et al. 2008). The S-O-R
framework suggests that environmental stimuli (S) result in an emotional reaction (O), which evokes a
behavioral response (R) (Russell and Mehrabian 1977). External stimuli are crucial drivers of individuals’
cognitive processes (Choi et al. 2015) and may be represented by technological features like website
characteristics or design cues. In this study, perceived ephemerality thus represents an external stimulus.
For instance, Li et al. (2012) showed that design cues may function as such stimuli and affect individuals’
attitudes towards mobile applications. In the social app context, Choi et al. (2015) examined how three
stimuli (exposure sensitivity, network scope, and transparency of self) affect individuals’ privacy-related
decision-making. They found that these stimuli affect usage intention by lowering privacy risk perceptions
and increasing image enhancement.
Research Model and Hypotheses Development
Building on the theoretical foundations described above, Figure 1 depicts our research model. Following
Choi et al. (2015), we apply the S-O-R framework to combine the specific nature of ESNSs with the
privacy calculus. By doing so, we show that ephemerality affects ESNS usage intention through privacy
concerns and enjoyment—two crucial determinants of ESNS usage intention. We apply perceived
enjoyment as an exemplary benefit building on recent studies in the ESNS literature, which suggest that
enjoyment is among the most important drivers of ESNS usage (Bayer et al. 2015; Roesner et al. 2014). In
our model, privacy concerns represent the cost side of the privacy calculus, which is consistent with
privacy literature (Wilson et al. 2014). Finally, and not unique to our study, we integrate two antecedents
(prior privacy invasion, privacy awareness) of privacy concerns for a more holistic understanding of what
determines privacy concerns (Bansal and Gefen 2010; Xu et al. 2008).
Figure 1. Research Model
Based on ESNS literature, we suggest that perceived ephemerality affects individuals’ ESNS usage
intention by lowering privacy concerns and increasing perceived enjoyment. We define perceived
ephemerality as individuals’ perceptions that, on Snapchat, the access to shared information (e.g., snaps,
stories) is time limited. ESNS literature suggests that perceived ephemerality builds an important
determinant of ESNS usage. Perceived ephemerality is assumed to facilitate benefits for users, like having
fun (Kaun and Stiernstedt 2014). Bayer et al. (2015) found that, based on the ephemeral nature of shared
information, Snapchat users perceive social interaction as more enjoyable compared to traditional SNSs.
We thus suggest that perceived ephemerality positively affects perceived enjoyment. Extant research
proposes that perceived ephemerality lowers privacy concerns (Roesner et al. 2014). The ephemeral
nature of messages may remove some inhibition from users who would otherwise not actively use an
ESNS (Piwek and Joinson 2016). Knowing that information will self-destruct, individuals have less

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Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 4
privacy concerns. Hence, under the assumption of ephemerality, users are less concerned about privacy.
We thus suggest that perceived ephemerality negatively affects privacy concerns. Overall, we hold:
H1a: Perceived ephemerality has a positive effect on perceived enjoyment.
H1b: Perceived ephemerality has a negative effect on privacy concerns.
Privacy concerns refer to individuals’ perceptions of what happens with the information they provide
when using a technology, like an ESNS (Dinev and Hart 2006). Prior privacy literature has found that
privacy concerns influence individuals’ technology usage behaviors, like the adoption of eHealth
technologies (Angst and Agarwal 2009) or SNS usage intention (Wilson et al. 2014). Drawing on Wilson
et al. (2014), we propose that privacy concerns weaken the willingness to use an ESNS. Privacy concerns
may also have a negative impact on perceived enjoyment. Individuals, which are concerned about privacy
perceive ESNS usage as less enjoyable. This negative impact of privacy concerns on perceived enjoyment
has previously been shown in the context of personalization (Pappas et al. 2012) and smartphone usage
(Choi 2016). Contextualizing, we suggest that, on ESNSs, individuals’ concerns about privacy lower
perceived enjoyment. We therefore propose:
H2a: Privacy concerns are negatively related to usage intention.
H2b: Privacy concerns are negatively related to perceived enjoyment.
IS research has consistently shown that perceived enjoyment is a key determinant of user behavior
(Krasnova et al. 2009b). Perceived enjoyment describes the extent to which individuals derive fun from
using a specific technology (Van der Heijden 2004). In the SNS context, Krasnova et al. (2009a) showed
that perceived enjoyment positively affects SNS usage intention. Contextualizing, we propose that
perceived enjoyment represents a driver of ESNS usage intention. The use of Snapchat is strongly related
to feelings of enjoyment and positive mood (Bayer et al. 2015). We thus expect that perceived enjoyment
builds a central benefit related to the use of ESNSs and is a major driver of individuals’ ESNS usage
intentions. Thus, we propose:
H3: Perceived enjoyment positively affects usage intention.
Privacy awareness describes the degree to which an individual knows about privacy practices and policies,
about how users’ personal information is used, and about how they are able to preserve their privacy (Xu
et al. 2008). Privacy literature suggests that privacy awareness builds an antecedent of privacy concerns
(Krasnova et al. 2010). Thus, we propose that a high degree of privacy awareness results in higher privacy
concerns. We thus hypothesize:
H4: Privacy awareness positively affects interdependent privacy concerns.
Privacy literature consistently found that individuals’ privacy experiences have an impact on privacy
concerns (Awad and Krishnan 2006; Bansal and Gefen 2010). Individuals who have experienced privacy
invasion are more concerned about privacy (Smith et al. 1996). Drawing on Bansal and Gefen (2010), we
thus propose that negative privacy experiences result in higher privacy concerns. We thus hold:
H5: Prior privacy invasion positively affects privacy concerns.
Methodology
Measurement
Previously validated multi-item scales were adapted to measure our research model and to fit the ESNS
context (see Table 1). Items for measuring ESNS usage intention are based on Venkatesh et al. (2012). We
measured privacy concerns by adapting the scale of Dinev and Hart (2006). For measuring perceived
enjoyment, we applied a scale based on Agarwal and Karahanna (2000). Privacy awareness measures are
based on Malhotra et al. (2004). To measure these constructs, we used seven-point Likert-type scales
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The measure of prior privacy invasion builds on
Bansal and Gefen (2010). Finally, we adapted a semantic differential (Ajzen 2002) to measure perceived
ephemerality because, to the best of our knowledge, there is no established measure for this construct.

Ephemeral Social Network Sites and Privacy Concerns
Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 5
Construct
Items*
Sources
ESNS Usage
Intention
I would intend/intend to continue using Snapchat in the future.
I would always try/will always try to use Snapchat in my daily life.
I would plan/plan to continue to use Snapchat frequently.
based on
Venkatesh et
al. (2012)
Privacy
Concerns
I would be/am concerned about taking snaps of me and share them
on Snapchat, because they could be used in a way I did not foresee.
I would be/am concerned that the snaps I take of me and share on
Snapchat could be misused.
I would be/am concerned that a person can find the snaps I take of
me and share on Snapchat.
I would be/am concerned about taking snaps of me and share them
on Snapchat, because of what others might do with it.
based on
Dinev and
Hart (2006)
Perceived
Enjoyment
I would have/have fun interacting with my friends through
Snapchat.
Using Snapchat would provide/provides me with a lot of enjoyment.
I would enjoy/enjoy using Snapchat.
Using Snapchat would bore/bores me. (reversed)
based on
Agarwal and
Karahanna
(2000)
Privacy
Awareness
Companies seeking information online should disclose the way the
data are collected, processed, and used.
A good consumer online privacy policy should have a clear and
conspicuous disclosure.
It is very important to me that I am aware and knowledgeable about
how my personal information will be used.
based on
Malhotra et al.
(2004)
Prior Privacy
Invasion
When it comes to the privacy invasion of information, my online
experience could be characterized as:
never victimized/definitely victimized
no bad experiences/definitely bad experiences
no invasion of privacy at all/definitely invasion of privacy
based on
Bansal and
Gefen (2010)
Perceived
Ephemerality
I perceive the fact that messages (snaps) on Snapchat are deleted as
Bad—Good; Useless—Useful; Worthless—Valuable; Unpleasant—
Pleasant; Worrying—Reassuring (dropped)
based on
Ajzen (2002)
*Note: For non-users, we presented the measurement items of ESNS usage intention, privacy
concerns, and perceived enjoyment in subjunctive mood.
Table 1. Constructs and Items
Data Collection and Sample Description
To test our hypotheses, we developed an online survey following the standard instrument construction
procedures according to Boudreau et al. (2001). After an introductory page, participants were separated
into two groups based on their usage status (users and non-users). Participants who indicated themselves
as Snapchat users received questions related to their usage patterns. To ensure the same knowledge base,
participants were instructed to read information about Snapchat use and to watch a video explaining
Snapchat’s core features. We implemented three attention checks and a marker variable for accounting
for common method bias (Lindell and Whitney 2001). A lottery for Amazon vouchers was offered as an
incentive to participate. We pretested the survey with nine researchers with experience in empirical
research methods and quantitative data analysis techniques. Based on their feedback, adjustments were
made regarding the clarity and the comprehensibility of the survey instructions and the question items.
We distributed the survey via Facebook posts and via the campus mailing list of a large public university
in Germany. Data was collected from November until December 2016. In total, 463 participants
completed the survey with an average response time of 11 minutes.
In preparation for the data analysis, we checked the data set for outliers and for respondents who
answered the attention checks incorrectly. We adjusted the data for respondents who had spent less than
four minutes ensuring the users’ thoroughness and the quality of their responses. This led to a final
sample of 429 participants, of whom 255 (59.44%) were female and 174 (40.56%) were male. Most of the

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Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 6
participants (n=340; 79.25%) were college students, while 10.49% of the participants were employees (n =
45). 320 (74.59 %) of the participants were between 13 and 24 years old, while 109 (25.41%) were between
25 and 48. 245 participants (57.1%) were users while 184 participants (42.9%) were non-users. Among the
Snapchat users, the level of activity is relatively equal (50.2% passive use; 49.8% active use). 49.0% of the
participants are using Snapchat several times a day, 31.84% at least once a day. Only 4.1% use Snapchat
several times a month or less.
Data Analysis and Results
Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data and to test our hypotheses. We used
SmartPLS Version 3.2.6. (Ringle et al. 2016) and applied bootstrapping for significance testing with no
sign changes and 5,000 resamples. By doing so, we followed the two-step approach as suggested by Hair
et al. (2014): (1) we assessed the measurement model’s quality (validity and reliability); and (2) we tested
our hypotheses and evaluated the quality of our research model (assessment of structural model).
CA
CR
AVE
ENJ
EPH
PAW
PC
PPI
UI
ENJ
0.921
0.944
0.809
0.899
EPH
0.879
0.916
0.732
0.361
0.856
PAW
0.847
0.906
0.762
0.048
0.136
0.873
PC
0.947
0.962
0.863
-0.418
-0.154
0.298
0.929
PPI
0.945
0.965
0.901
-0.128
-0.031
0.118
0.370
0.949
UI
0.905
0.940
0.840
0.740
0.306
-0.013
-0.487
-0.111
0.916
Note: AVE = Average Variance Extracted, CA = Cronbach's Alpha, CR = Composite Reliability,
ENJ =Perceived Enjoyment, EPH = Perceived Ephemerality, PAW = Privacy Awareness, PC =
Privacy Concerns, PPI = Prior Invasion of Own Privacy, UI = Usage Intention; diagonal elements
are the square roots of the AVE (in bold) and off-diagonal elements are correlations
Table 2. Measurement Model Validity
For assessing the measurement model, we tested reliability and discriminant validity of the measures. The
values for item loading, Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability and average variance extracted (AVE)
were above the respective thresholds of 0.7, 0.7, 0.7, and 0.5 (Hair et al. 2014), meeting the established
guidelines for reliability and validity (Table 2). We assessed the discriminant validity by verifying that the
square roots of AVEs exceeded inter-construct correlations, the Fornell-Larcker criterion and the
heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations (HTMT). The indicators’ factor loadings were higher than all
the cross-loadings and thus indicating adequate discriminant validity (Chin 1998). Since the AVE’s square
root values were much larger than the highest latent variable correlation in all the cases, the Fornell-
Larcker criterion was also fulfilled. All values for HTMT were below the threshold of 0.85. Finally, we
assessed the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). The SRMR value (0.05) was below the cut-
off value of 0.08 (Henseler et al. 2016).
We tested our hypotheses by examining path coefficients and their significance (see Figure 2). We applied
the bootstrapping algorithm to determine the factor loadings and path coefficients, and to assess their
significance. We found that perceived ephemerality has a positive effect on perceived enjoyment
(ß=0.304, p<0.001) and negatively affects privacy concerns (ß=-0.182, p<0.001), supporting H1a and
H1b. We found that privacy concerns negatively affect ESNS usage intention (ß=-0.215, p<0.001), as well
as perceived enjoyment (ß=-0.371, p<0.001), supporting H2a and H2b. We found that perceived
enjoyment has a positive effect on ESNS usage intention (ß=0.650, p<0.001), supporting H3. Privacy
awareness and prior privacy invasion results in higher privacy concerns (ß=0.284, p<0.001; ß=0.331,
p<0.001), supporting H4 and H5. Finally, the predictive power of the structural model was assessed using
R² in the endogenous construct (Chin 1998). The structural model for the total sample explained 58.6% of
the variance regarding ESNS usage intention.

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Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 7
Figure 2. PLS Results for Total Sample
Discussion
Our findings from the PLS modeling indicate that that perceived ephemerality affects individuals’ ESNS
usage intentions. More specifically, we found that perceived ephemerality affects usage intention by (1)
counterbalancing privacy concerns; and (2) increasing perceived enjoyment. This finding complements
ESNS literature, which suggests that ephemerality is linked with positive emotions and that this specific
characteristic of ESNSs may lower users’ concerns (Bayer et al. 2015; Piwek and Joinson 2016). We also
found that privacy concerns form a direct inhibitor of ESNS usage intention. This result complements
recent findings on the negative effect of privacy concerns on individuals’ usage intentions, which have
been conducted in the SNS and social app context (Krasnova et al. 2009a; Wilson et al. 2014). Besides,
our results indicate that privacy concerns lower perceived enjoyment. This finding adds to prior research
on smartphone usage that showed a negative effect of privacy concerns on perceived enjoyment (Choi
2016). It is particularly interesting to note that perceived enjoyment has a strong positive effect on ESNS
usage intention. This finding complements other studies from ESNS literature that found perceived
enjoyment to be among the most important drivers of usage intention (Bayer et al. 2015; Roesner et al.
2014). This finding seems to coincide with Snap Inc.’s current marketing strategy and their slogan (“Life’s
more fun when you live in the moment!”) with which the company apparently seeks to highlight fun as the
major benefit of using this ESNS (Snap Inc. 2017). Finally, we found that personal characteristics affect
privacy concerns. More specifically, privacy awareness as well as prior privacy invasion make people more
concerned about privacy. This finding is not unique to our study, but is consistent with prior privacy
research (Bansal and Gefen 2010; Xu et al. 2008) and supports evidence that personal characteristics are
substantial determinants of individuals’ privacy concerns.
Theoretical and Practical Implications
We make a twofold contribution to the literature. First, we show how the unique technical peculiarity of
ESNSs—ephemerality—affects individuals’ ESNS usage intentions. Particularly, we show that
ephemerality affects ESNS usage intention by counteracting privacy concerns while raising enjoyment. By
doing so, we contribute to IS literature and provide a better understanding on how the specific nature of
ESNSs affects usage intention. The important role of ephemerality on ESNS usage intention is especially
interesting for IS research. Ephemerality represents an artificial technical restriction. Typically, technical
restrictions like limited processing power or storage capacity are factors that keep individuals from using
a technology. Yet, on ESNSs, the opposite is the case: ephemerality—as a technical restriction—is
implemented intentionally and contributes to active ESNS usage. From an IS perspective, this is rather a
counterintuitive finding and calls for further investigation. Second, our study provides a better
understanding on privacy-related decision-making in the ESNS context. By doing so, we extend the

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Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 2017 8
existing body of knowledge in an as yet underexplored, but increasingly important and complex context:
ESNSs.
Our study also informs practice. Users’ active participation is crucial for any successful SNSs—traditional
SNSs just like ESNSs. SNSs operators seek to achieve a large and active user base and increase user
engagement in order to monetize their platforms through, e.g. advertisement and marketing campaigns.
We show that ephemerality builds a substantial determinant of ESNS usage. To persist on the market,
traditional SNSs operators may also benefit from adding ephemeral features. This is a strategy, companies
like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp seem to pursue at the moment as they increasingly implement
ephemeral features to raise users’ active participation (Bründl and Hess 2016; Tang et al. 2016). Yet,
ephemerality does not seem to fully attenuate users’ privacy concerns. ESNSs operators should thus
implement control mechanisms to ensure users’ privacy; also, because de facto ephemerality may not
always be guaranteed. For instance, despite the ephemeral nature of snaps and stories on Snapchat, users
can take screenshots. To counteract this, Snap Inc., for example, introduced a notification feature so that
users are informed when others take a screenshot. Finally, operators should not only focus on raising
users’ perceived enjoyment by implementing playful features (e.g., Snapchat Lenses) but they should also
consider addressing privacy concerns. As this study shows, individuals perform a privacy calculus on
ESNSs and privacy concerns may lower individuals’ perceived enjoyment related to the use of ESNS.
Limitations and Conclusion
This study is limited in certain ways. First, our study only provides initial insights into the role of
ephemerality in individuals’ decision-making on ESNSs. It would be worthwhile to analyze how a varying
degree of ephemerality affects individuals’ willingness to share information or to compare why some users
prefer ESNSs while others prefer traditional SNSs. Also, it might be interesting to investigate how
perceived vs. de facto ephemerality affects individuals’ willingness to share information. Future studies
should seek to develop a more in-depth understanding of this concept and to develop specific
measurement instruments. Second, this study recruits mostly college students as the research sample.
Although young adults build the target group of Snap Inc., the results must be treated with caution in
terms of their generalizability to other user populations of ESNSs. And finally, we applied self-reported
data to assess ESNS usage intention. Future research may employ actual ESNSs usage data to assess
actual user behavior.
This study contributes to a better understanding of privacy calculus dynamics behind the ESNS usage
decision. We show that the unique technical peculiarity of ESNSs—ephemerality—plays a key role in this
process. Further, we confirm that privacy concerns and perceived enjoyment are determinants of ESNS
usage. Based on the S-O-R framework and the privacy calculus approach, we developed a research model
to posit that ephemerality affects ESNS usage intention. We collected survey data from 429 participants to
validate the research model and the results confirm our proposed model. In summary, this study is an
important first step towards a better understanding of the effect of ephemerality in individuals’ privacy-
related decision-making.
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