We are pleased to announce the publication of the edited volume Advancing the Study of Privacy Cynicism, Apathy and Resignation in the Digital Society, published by Edward Elgar Publishing and edited by Christoph Lutz (BI Norwegian Business School), Christian Pieter Hoffmann (University of Leipzig), and Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux (University of St. Gallen).

The volume brings together leading international privacy scholars to examine a growing challenge of the digital age: why many individuals feel increasingly powerless, resigned, or cynical about their ability to protect their privacy in highly datafied societies. Moving beyond traditional debates about privacy concerns and the “privacy paradox,” the book explores concepts such as privacy cynicism, digital resignation, privacy fatigue, helplessness, and apathy, and investigates their causes, consequences, and potential remedies.

The book is structured into five parts:

PART I: INTRODUCTION

This opening section sets the stage for the volume by introducing the key concepts of privacy cynicism, privacy apathy and digital resignation. It outlines the motivation for the book and positions these phenomena as central challenges in contemporary digital societies.

• Introduction to the volume: privacy cynicism and digital resignation – a new perspective
  Christoph Lutz, Christian Pieter Hoffmann and Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux

PART II: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS

This section develops the conceptual groundwork for understanding privacy cynicism and related attitudes. It revisits existing privacy theories and introduces new frameworks to explain how cynicism, apathy, and resignation emerge and evolve.

• Privacy theories and their connection to privacy cynicism
  Yannic Meier
• Conceptualizing privacy cynicism: a review of privacy cynicism as multidimensional attitude
  Iris van Ooijen and Claire M. Segijn
• From traits to states: situational dynamics of privacy cynicism, privacy fatigue and mistrust
  Philipp K. Masur
• Privacy resignation as an adaptive preference
  Gordon Hull
• Privacy cynicism as a product of structural constraints and a form of social privilege: a precarious protection hypothesis
  Laurent H. Wang

PART III: CONTEXTS AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

This section presents empirical studies from diverse global and social contexts, illustrating how privacy cynicism and digital resignation manifests in everyday life. It highlights variations across cultures, technologies, and institutional settings, including workplaces, platforms, and surveillance environments.

• Privacy cynicism among women in rural India: how gender performances shape digital interactions
  Debjani Chakraborty
• Privacy in the context of pervasive surveillance: digital resignation and resistance in China
  Ariane Ollier-Malaterre
• Algorithmic surveillance in everyday life: user perceptions and adaptation of Zhima Credit in China
  Fan Liang and Haiqing Yu
• Privacy fatigue and cynicism in the digital age: a close replication of Choi et al. (2018) and Lutz et al. (2020)
  Philipp K. Masur
• Organizational practices and the cycle of privacy resignation: challenges for data workers
  Lemi Baruh and Mihaela Popescu
• Resigned aspirations in platform societies: hope and hopefulness underneath resignation about datafication
  Ranjana Das

PART IV: POLICY IMPLICATIONS, REMEDIES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

This section explores how privacy cynicism can be addressed through policy, regulation, and societal change. It discusses digital literacy, data rights, resistance strategies, and new approaches to empowerment in increasingly datafied environments.

• Data citizenship as literacies to address digital resignation
  Elinor Carmi and Panagiota Nakou
• EU data access and portability in practice: nothing but resignation and frustration?
  Yongle Chao, Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux and Konrad Kollnig
• Digital resistance and the quest for a less resigned datafied public: exploring individuals’ awareness of, attitudes towards, and reactions to a datafied everyday life
  Kiran Kappeler
• Consensual interdependence: AI, privacy and empowerment beyond the individual
  Enya Rogerson and Henrik Skaug Sætra

PART V: CONCLUSION

The concluding section synthesizes the insights from the volume and outlines a forward-looking research agenda. It reflects on the broader implications for scholarship, policy, and practice in addressing privacy cynicism and fostering digital empowerment.

• Conclusion: looking towards the future and a research agenda for privacy scholars
  Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux, Christian Pieter Hoffmann and Christoph Lutz

A particular strength of the book is its combination of conceptual innovation, empirical diversity, and policy relevance. By bringing together perspectives from communication studies, sociology, information systems, law, surveillance studies, and related fields, the volume advances understanding of how privacy attitudes are shaped by structural conditions and how meaningful digital empowerment might be achieved.

The editors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all chapter authors for their outstanding contributions, as well as to the editorial and production team at Edward Elgar Publishing for their support throughout the project.

The book is available from Edward Elgar Publishing.