Swipe or Subscribe: Do Young People Really Prefer an Ad-free Instagram?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62008/ixc/15/01PasaroKeywords:
Youth, Advertising, Personalisation, Privacy, InstagramAbstract
In 2023, European Instagram users faced a choice: subscribe to avoid advertisements or allow their data to be used for targeted advertising. This study examines how Generation Z engages with personalised advertising and their privacy concerns, focusing on Instagram's new subscription model. An online survey of 479 young people aged 14 to 24 revealed that only 12.5% would be willing to pay for a subscription. Despite many find advertising overwhelming and distracting and perceiving a considerable risk to data protection in social media use, neither advertising saturation nor privacy concerns appear to influence their willingness to subscribe. These findings reinforce the theory of the privacy paradox and underscore the need for new approaches to address data privacy concerns among younger users.
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