Feeling Safer Than Peers: Influence of Privacy-related Perceptions and Parental Mediation on Teen Tiktok Users’ Comparative Optimism about Privacy Risks

This study investigates how privacy-related perceptions and parental mediation relate to teens’ comparative optimism about the privacy risks of TikTok, and the role of such optimism in teens’ privacy management on the platform. Our online survey of teen TikTok users residing in the U.S. revealed that those who were more concerned about privacy displayed less comparative optimism. Active parental mediation further enhanced this negative association between privacy concerns and comparative optimism. We also found that comparative optimism is negatively related to privacy-protecting behavior among teen users. Study findings guide youth-serving stakeholders in honing teens’ critical orientation toward social media privacy.