Privacy or Self-Censorship? Coping Strategies of Young Polish Job Candidates under Cybervetting

Ilona Pawełoszek; Rafał Niedbał

doi:10.2478/ijcm-2026-0004

.blurhash-client-img { display: none !important; }

Privacy or Self-Censorship? Coping Strategies of Young Polish Job Candidates under Cybervetting

International Journal of Contemporary Management

Volume 62 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)

By: Ilona Pawełoszek and Rafał Niedbał

Open Access

|Apr 2026

Abstract

Purpose

The article investigates how young adults in Poland (aged 18–30) adjust their self-presentation on social media in response to cybervetting. It compares two strategies—preventive profile privacy settings and reactive self-censorship—across professional and general platforms. It also explores whether the amount of time spent online correlates with the intensity of these actions.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey (conducted March–April 2025) was completed by 126 respondents. Ordinal scales measured the level of profile privacy and frequency of self-censorship. Due to significant deviations from normal distribution, the Mann–Whitney U test was used. The relationship between time spent online and strategies was assessed using Spearman’s correlation.

Findings

Users of professional platforms reported stricter privacy settings; self-censorship did not differ. Time spent online was not related to self-censorship but was slightly negatively correlated with privacy settings.

Research limitations/implications.

Self-reported measures, simplified platform classification, non-random sampling, and lack of demographic subgroup analysis limit generalizability.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies in Poland to compare preventive and reactive strategies toward cybervetting across platform types, combining impression management and context collapse theories. It shows that platform type, versus time online, drives privacy choices.

References

Loh, J.M.I., & Walsh, M.J. (2021). Social media context collapse: The consequential differences between context collusion versus context collision. Social Media + Society, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211041646.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Backman, C., & Hedenus, A. (2023). Professional talk on cybervetting: Accounting for a contested practice. Acta Sociologica, 66(1), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993221088741.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Berkelaar, B.L. (2014). Cybervetting, online information, and personnel selection: New transparency expectations and the emergence of a digital social contract. Management Communication Quarterly, 28(4), 479–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318914541966.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Berkelaar, B.L., & Buzzanell, P.M. (2015). Online employment screening and digital career capital: Exploring employers’ use of online information for personnel selection. Management Communication Quarterly, 29(1), 84–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318914554657.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Da Motta Veiga, S.P., & Figueroa-Armijos, M. (2022). Considering artificial intelligence in hiring for cybervetting purposes. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2022.54.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Escalera, J. (2025). Zety’s 2025 Gen Z career trends report: 46% of Gen Z has secured jobs through TikTok. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://zety.com/blog/genz-career-trends-reportzety.com
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hargittai, E., & Litt, E. (2013). New strategies for employment? Internet skills and online privacy practices during people’s job search. IEEE Security & Privacy, 11(3), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1109/MSP.2013.64.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hartwell, C.J., Harrison, J.T., Chauhan, R.S., Levashina, J., & Campion, M.A. (2022). Structuring social media assessments in employee selection. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 30(5), 330–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12384.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hoover, A.N., Rupp, D.E., & McCauley, R. (2025). Cybervetting best practices: An integrative framework for developing, validating, and implementing social media assessment for personnel selection. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-025-09538-4.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hukkeri, P., & Pol, S. (2025). The impact of AI and social media integration on recruitment strategies: Opportunities and challenge. IOSR Journal Of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 30(5), 30–35. Retrieved July 2, 2025, from https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol.30-Issue5/Ser-3/F3005033035.pdf
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Jacobson, J., & Gruzd, A. (2020). Cybervetting job applicants on social media: The new normal? Ethics and Information Technology, 22, 175–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-020-09526-2.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
JDP. (2019). Study: How job seekers curate their social presence. Retrieved June 27, 2025, from https://www.jdp.com/blog/job-search-social-media-study-2019
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Johnson, K. (2022). Feds warn employers against discriminatory hiring algorithms. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from https://www.wired.com/story/ai-hiring-bias-doj-eecc-guidance/
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Lacmanović, S., & Skare, M. (2025). Artificial intelligence bias auditing—current approaches, challenges and lessons from practice. Review of Accounting & Finance, 24(3), 375–400. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAF-01-2025-0006.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Qiu, L., Lu, J., Yang, S., Qu, W., & Zhu, T. (2015). What does your selfie say about you? Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 443–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.032.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
European Union. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2024, Classification rules for high-risk AI systems (Art. 6). Official Journal of the European Union, L 1689. Retrieved July 2, 2025, from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Roulin, N., & Levashina, J. (2016). Impression management and social media profiles. In R., Landers, & G., Schmidt (Eds.), Social media in employee selection and recruitment. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29989-1_11.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Roulin, N., & Liu, Z. (2023). Job seekers’ attitudes toward cybervetting in China: Platform comparisons and relationships with social media posting habits and individual differences. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 31(2), 347–354,. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12424.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Ruggs, E.N., Walker, S.S., Blanchard, A., & Gur, S. (2016). Online exclusion: Biases that may arise when using social media in talent acquisition. In R. Landers & G. Schmidt, (Eds.), Social media in employee selection and recruitment. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29989-1_14.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Steen, E., Yurechko, K., & Klug, D. (2023). You can (not) say what you want: Using algospeak to contest and evade algorithmic content moderation on TikTok. Social Media + Society, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231194586.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Steinhardt, S.J. (2024). Younger generations use TikTok as a career tool. NextGen Blog (NYSSCPA). Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://www.nysscpa.org/article-content/younger-generations-use-tiktok-as-a-career-tool-060524
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Stoughton, J.W., Thompson, L.F., & Meade, A.W. (2013). Big five personality traits reflected in job applicants’ social media postings. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(11), 800–805. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0163.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Tews, M.J., Stafford, K., & Kudler, E.P. (2020). The effects of negative content in social networking profiles on perceptions of employment suitability. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 28(1), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12277.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Vitak, J., & Kim, J. (2014). You can’t block people offline. Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1145/2531602.2531672
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Vosen, E. (2021). Social media screening and procedural justice: Towards fairer use of social media in selection. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 33, 281–309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-021-09372-4.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Wadley, J. (2024). Study looks at ‘shadowbanning’ of marginalized social media users. Retrieved June 27, 2025, from https://record.umich.edu/articles/study-looks-at-shadowbanning-of-marginalized-social-media-users/
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Walrave, M., Van Ouytsel, J., Diederen, K., & Ponnet, K. (2022). Checked and approved? Human resources managers’ uses of social media for cybervetting. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 2, 402–417. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp2020021.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Yoono. (2024) The Complete Guide to GDPR in Recruitment. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://www.gdpreu.org/yoono-the-complete-guide-to-gdpr-in-recruitment/
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Zaman, T., Chen, Y.S. (2024). How Shadow Banning Can Silently Shift Opinion Online. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-shadow-banning-can-silently-shift-opinion-online
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Zarzycka, E., Krasodomska, J., & Dobija, D. (2021). Stakeholder engagement in corporate social practices and non-financial disclosures: A systematic literature review. Central European Management Journal, 29(1), 112–135. https://doi.org/10.7206/cemj.2658-0845.43.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Zhang, L., Van Iddekinge, C.H., Arnold, J.D., Roth, P.L., Lievens, F., Lanivich, S.E., & Jordan, S.L. (2020). What’s on job seekers’ social media sites? A content analysis and effects of structure on recruiter judgments and predictive validity. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 105(12), 1530–1546. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/apl0000490.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article

Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijcm-2026-0004 | Journal eISSN: 2449-8939 | Journal ISSN: 2449-8920

Journal RSS Feed

Language: English

Page range: 51 - 61

Published on: Apr 10, 2026

Published by: Jagiellonian University

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

cybervetting,

social media,

talent acquisition,

digital reputation management,

online recruitment,

technological transformation of HR

Related subjects:

Business and economics,

Business management,

Management, organization, corporate governance,

Business management, other,

Industries,

Non profit organizations (NPO), foundations, charities, associations,

Public sector, public private partnerships, public administration

© 2026 Ilona Pawełoszek, Rafał Niedbał, published by Jagiellonian University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 62 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)