Evaluating Target Audience Surveillance on Instagram in the Context of Public Relations Practices

Abstract

The relationship between public relations and surveillance is a form of communication that reveals the interactions between today’s surveillance practices and companies’ sales strategies. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationships between demographic factors and individuals’ Instagram attitudes and behaviors. The article also looks at the relationships among levels of corporate trust, the sharing of private information on Instagram, individuals’ motivation to log in, the time spent daily on Instagram, and the number of accounts followed. Two-way ANOVA and post hoc tests have been used to examine with respect to demographics the differences between levels of institutional trust and levels at which relatively private information is sent. The relationships among level of institutional trust, level at which relatively private information is posted, motivation to log on, time spent daily on Instagram, and number of accounts followed have been examined using discriminant analysis. Individuals’ beliefs about protecting personal information and preventing unauthorized access have been determined to differ according to age group. Likewise, the level at which individuals post relatively private information on Instagram varies by age group. Also, a significant difference has been found for individuals’ level of institutional trust with their education and income levels. A significant relationship has been found for individuals’ institutional trust levels with their individual posting levels, motivation to log on, and time spent daily on Instagram. As a result, this study contributes to institutions that carry out public relations activities on Instagram and their target audiences with regard to recognizing their trust levels toward Instagram and institutions and their behaviors on Instagram.