Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 251 |
| Number of pages | 45 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | CSCW2 |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Oct 2023 |
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted countries around the world to introduce smartphone apps to support disease control efforts. Their purposes range from digital contact tracing to quarantine enforcement to vaccination passports, and their effectiveness often depends on widespread adoption. While previous work has identified factors that promote or hinder adoption, it has typically examined data collected at a single point in time or focused exclusively on digital contact tracing apps. In this work, we conduct the first representative study that examines changes in people's attitudes towards COVID-19-related smartphone apps for five different purposes over the first 1.5 years of the pandemic. In three survey rounds conducted between Summer 2020 and Summer 2021 in the United States and Germany, with approximately 1,000 participants per round and country, we investigate people's willingness to use such apps, their perceived utility, and people's attitudes towards them in different stages of the pandemic. Our results indicate that privacy is a consistent concern for participants, even in a public health crisis, and the collection of identity-related data significantly decreases acceptance of COVID-19 apps. Trust in authorities is essential to increase confidence in government-backed apps and foster citizens' willingness to contribute to crisis management. There is a need for continuous communication with app users to emphasize the benefits of health crisis apps both for individuals and society, thus counteracting decreasing willingness to use them and perceived usefulness as the pandemic evolves.
Keywords
- COVID-19, mobile apps, privacy, technology acceptance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Computer Science(all)
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Computer Science(all)
- Computer Networks and Communications
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 7, No. CSCW2, 251, 04.10.2023.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - 52 Weeks Later
T2 - Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Apps for Different Purposes Over Time
AU - Kowalewski, Marvin
AU - Utz, Christine
AU - Degeling, Martin
AU - Schnitzler, Theodor
AU - Herbert, Franziska
AU - Schaewitz, Leonie
AU - Becker, Steffen
AU - Dürmuth, Markus
AU - Farke, Florian M.
N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy - EXC 2092 CASA - 390781972
PY - 2023/10/4
Y1 - 2023/10/4
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted countries around the world to introduce smartphone apps to support disease control efforts. Their purposes range from digital contact tracing to quarantine enforcement to vaccination passports, and their effectiveness often depends on widespread adoption. While previous work has identified factors that promote or hinder adoption, it has typically examined data collected at a single point in time or focused exclusively on digital contact tracing apps. In this work, we conduct the first representative study that examines changes in people's attitudes towards COVID-19-related smartphone apps for five different purposes over the first 1.5 years of the pandemic. In three survey rounds conducted between Summer 2020 and Summer 2021 in the United States and Germany, with approximately 1,000 participants per round and country, we investigate people's willingness to use such apps, their perceived utility, and people's attitudes towards them in different stages of the pandemic. Our results indicate that privacy is a consistent concern for participants, even in a public health crisis, and the collection of identity-related data significantly decreases acceptance of COVID-19 apps. Trust in authorities is essential to increase confidence in government-backed apps and foster citizens' willingness to contribute to crisis management. There is a need for continuous communication with app users to emphasize the benefits of health crisis apps both for individuals and society, thus counteracting decreasing willingness to use them and perceived usefulness as the pandemic evolves.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted countries around the world to introduce smartphone apps to support disease control efforts. Their purposes range from digital contact tracing to quarantine enforcement to vaccination passports, and their effectiveness often depends on widespread adoption. While previous work has identified factors that promote or hinder adoption, it has typically examined data collected at a single point in time or focused exclusively on digital contact tracing apps. In this work, we conduct the first representative study that examines changes in people's attitudes towards COVID-19-related smartphone apps for five different purposes over the first 1.5 years of the pandemic. In three survey rounds conducted between Summer 2020 and Summer 2021 in the United States and Germany, with approximately 1,000 participants per round and country, we investigate people's willingness to use such apps, their perceived utility, and people's attitudes towards them in different stages of the pandemic. Our results indicate that privacy is a consistent concern for participants, even in a public health crisis, and the collection of identity-related data significantly decreases acceptance of COVID-19 apps. Trust in authorities is essential to increase confidence in government-backed apps and foster citizens' willingness to contribute to crisis management. There is a need for continuous communication with app users to emphasize the benefits of health crisis apps both for individuals and society, thus counteracting decreasing willingness to use them and perceived usefulness as the pandemic evolves.
KW - COVID-19
KW - mobile apps
KW - privacy
KW - technology acceptance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174424402&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.48550/arXiv.2307.06214
DO - 10.48550/arXiv.2307.06214
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85174424402
VL - 7
JO - Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
JF - Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
IS - CSCW2
M1 - 251
ER -