The Interactions of Risk, Trust, and Permanence on Individuals’ Motivations for Sexting: A Communication Privacy Management Perspective

Abstract

New media outlets have created increased fears about sexting and about managing privacy in mediated contexts. This study aims to understand how individuals’ motivations for sexting align with how they manage privacy online. A cross-sectional survey (n = 94) examines how individuals’ motivations for sending sexts are influenced by trust, risk, and message permanence. We conducted a series of moderation analyses culminating with a mediated-moderation model where perceptions of message permanence moderate the relationship between approach motives and risk and where risk mediates the relationship between approach motives and sexting experiences. We show that privacy is a concern, but individuals use features of permanence to manage their privacy boundaries and reduce the risk associated with sexting. The findings contribute to communication privacy management (CPM; Petronio) in mediated contexts by showing that social media affordances serve as mechanisms for individuals to manage privacy boundaries and control the sharing of their information.

Keywords

• affordances
• communication privacy management (cpm)
• conflict
• motivation
• permanence
• risk
• sexting
• trust