This thesis discusses the increased amount of information available online, and how we use it in
our daily lives to make decisions. It aims to open a discussion on the complexity of accessing and
evaluating digital information. As the Internet has grown, the amount of information available to
the public has exploded. Not only have we gained access to what seems to be an unlimited
amount of sources, but also the number of producers has grown. By means of a case study, this
thesis explores practices of trust assessment within the shared economy. Through the lens of
Actor-Network-Theory as well as Modern Social Imaginaries, media practices are studied by
using the example of Airbnb, an online, shared economy platform for accommodation. Airbnb
users as well as other travelers are asked about their media practices through an online survey
with 229 respondents as well as in-depth interviews with 7 users of Airbnb. Results show that
practices of trust assessment differ within and outside of the platform. There is a strong
dependency on social information, produced by fellow platform users, especially in the form of
reviews. In addition the study finds support for a social imaginary, in which the platform defines
the accepted behavior for the users of the platform, who within the economic constraint comply
with the social norm set by the organization, in order to be able to use the services of Airbnb.
This thesis discusses the increased amount of information available online, and how we use it inour daily lives to make decisions. It aims to open a discussion on the complexity of accessing andevaluating digital information. As the Internet has grown, the amount of information available tothe public has exploded. Not only have we gained access to what seems to be an unlimitedamount of sources, but also the number of producers has grown. By means of a case study, thisthesis explores practices of trust assessment within the shared economy. Through the lens ofActor-Network-Theory as well as Modern Social Imaginaries, media practices are studied byusing the example of Airbnb, an online, shared economy platform for accommodation. Airbnbusers as well as other travelers are asked about their media practices through an online surveywith 229 respondents as well as in-depth interviews with 7 users of Airbnb. Results show thatpractices of trust assessment differ within and outside of the platform. There is a strongdependency on social information, produced by fellow platform users, especially in the form ofreviews. In addition the study finds support for a social imaginary, in which the platform definesthe accepted behavior for the users of the platform, who within the economic constraint complywith the social norm set by the organization, in order to be able to use the services of Airbnb.
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