Explicating Geo-Tagging Behavior on Social Media: Role of Interpersonal Competence, Self-Regulation, Online Affiliation, and Privacy Calculus

Abstract

Geo-tagging features in social media apps allow users to announce their precise location with great ease and convenience, but geo-tagging poses some serious risks to users' privacy since it involves revelation of one's physical location, a form of personal data, to other users within and across social networks, making them vulnerable to various online and offline attacks, ranging from users being stalked to their identities being stolen. Despite these risks, geo-tagging is increasingly becoming a popular culture in the virtual realm of social media. This study explores why individuals geo-tag on social media by drawing from self-determination theory and privacy calculus to illustrate the underlying factors that influence users to engage in geo-tagging behavior on social media platforms. Based on an online survey administered to 834 active users of social media, this study contends that users' interpersonal competence and self-regulation influence their online affiliation need, which, in turn, affects their geo-tagging behavior. Additionally, we find that perceived benefit and risk have moderation effects on the association between users' online affiliation need and their geo-tagging behavior.