Privacy and safety of social media applications: The users awareness among students at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Malaysia

The development of social media applications has brought many changes and influences to the public in terms of communication and the use of communication technology. The existence of social media applications has made it easier for users to communicate with each other. Social media makes it easy for users to access information in their daily lives and it also has a positive and negative effect on their users especially to the university students. However, from a security and privacy standpoint, this will affect users because of their information and activities accessible through the social networks by irresponsible individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the types of personal information shared by social media users and to measure the level of consumer awareness of privacy and security among students at University Malaysia Perlis. This study used quantitative method which is a questionnaire via google form which was answered by 218 students from University Malaysia Perlis. Data obtained were analysed using Statistical Package for Science for Windows Version 26 (SPSS) software. The results showed that there is no significant relationship between the type of personal information shared and the level of awareness about privacy and safety among students. This study suggested that the there is a need to increase the level of awareness of the internet privacy and security among students.