Living is easy with eyes closed: Avoidance of targeted political advertising in response to privacy concerns, perceived personalization, and overload

Author(s)
Marlis Stubenvoll, Alice Binder, Selina Noetzel, Melanie Hirsch, Jörg Matthes
Abstract

Political parties increasingly rely on sophisticated targeting strategies to persuade potential voters. However, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of targeted political ads, considering that citizens frequently oppose the use of their data for political purposes. In this study, we investigate three avoidance behaviors that citizens might employ in order to circumvent targeted political ads: cognitive avoidance, blocking behaviors, and privacy-protective behaviors. We test if privacy concerns, perceived personalization, and overload explain why individuals resort to avoidance behaviors. Moreover, we explore interrelations between the different avoidance strategies. Findings from a two-wave panel study (N = 428) in the context of the Viennese state election showed that privacy concerns increased cognitive avoidance and privacy-protective behaviors. In contrast, perceived personalization decreased cognitive avoidance and blocking behaviors. Cognitive avoidance further reduced privacy-protective behaviors over time, indicating that low-effort strategies might inhibit preventive actions against data collection practices.

Organisation(s)
Department of Communication
External organisation(s)
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
Journal
Communication Research (CR)
Volume
51
Pages
203-227
No. of pages
25
ISSN
0093-6502
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221130840
Publication date
11-2022
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
508007 Communication science
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Communication, Language and Linguistics, Linguistics and Language
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed-avoidance-of-targeted-political-advertising-in-response-to-privacy-concerns-perceived-personalization-and-overload(b7dc30eb-a58a-40b9-8093-6f901e770e31).html