Opt out of privacy or "go home": understanding reluctant privacy behaviours through the FoMO-centric design paradigm

This paper explores how the design of online technology influences social factors and manipulates users' online privacy behaviours. In short, users reveal information and participate in online activities even when reluctant due to the influence of dark patterns. We propose FoMO-Centric Design as a paradigm for explaining how dark pattern-infused design may lead users to reluctantly behave in a less secure or privacy-preserving way than their attitudes reflect. We review the literature for evidence pointing to the existence of such design and for potential explanations for how it works. We then discuss the implications, present a list of preliminary recommendations, and offer an agenda for the research community based on our findings.