Privacy, Data Ethics, and Digital Trust: A Psychological Perspective on Global Online Access Trends
Keywords:
Digital privacy, Data ethics, Digital trust, Digital psychology, Global online accessAbstract
The growth of global online access has increased the intensity of personal data use, making the issues of privacy, data ethics, and digital trust increasingly relevant. From a psychological perspective, digital trust is determined not only by technological aspects, but also by perceptions of control, security, and user experience in interacting with digital systems. This study aims to analyze the relationship between privacy, data ethics, and digital trust by contextualizing them within global online access trends. This study uses a qualitative content analysis approach based on secondary data and qualitative big data. The primary data are sourced from Our World in Data and the UNDP for the 2019–2023 period, including indicators of communication technology adoption, the proportion of internet users, and the Gender Inequality Index. The quantitative data are interpreted qualitatively and elaborated with international scientific literature to understand the psychological implications for digital privacy and trust. The results show that increased internet access and the dominance of mobile devices do not automatically improve the quality of digital trust. User trust tends to be pragmatic and functional (trust by necessity), formed by social and economic needs, rather than by confidence in privacy protection and ethical data management. Furthermore, gender inequality and social structures influence experiences of digital privacy and trust, with vulnerable groups facing higher risks in digital spaces. This research contributes by integrating a psychological perspective into the analysis of global online access trends and confirming that digital trust is a contextual psychological construct. A limitation of the study lies in the use of secondary data without individual primary data. Future research is recommended to employ mixed-approaches and cross-cultural studies to empirically test the psychological mechanisms of digital trust formation.
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