Lower Cynicism, Not Higher Literacy, Promotes Protective Behavior: Exploring the “privacy exception” in the Digital Inequality Framework

Prior research on digital inequality has highlighted the role of sociocultural resources in shaping Internet beneficial use patterns by positively impacting on online literacy. Research on privacy protection online has—at the same time—shown the emergence of a “privacy cynicism,” where concerns about privacy fail to translate into protective actions. This study investigates how education level impacts privacy protection behavior through these two different mediation paths. Using unique data from a sample of 3,156 Italian Internet users, structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to analyze the linkages between education level, privacy literacy, privacy cynicism, and protective behaviors. Contrary to expectations, the results reveal a moderate negative impact of education level on privacy protection behaviors. This total effect is the results of two different paths exerting opposite effects on protection behaviors. While a higher education correlates with increased privacy literacy, this competence does not translate into proactive protective actions. Surprisingly, individuals with higher privacy literacy exhibit even lower levels of protection behavior, contributing to a negative indirect effect of education on privacy protection. On the other side, the indirect effect of education on behaviors through privacy cynicism operates consistently with the digital inequality framework, partially compensating the negative effect through literacy. An interpretation of privacy protection as an exception within the digital inequality framework is proposed.