연령, 소득 및 디지털 리터러시가 온라인 개인정보 노출 및 보호 행동에 미치는 영향

This research attempted to examine the digital divide in the behaviors of online exposure and protection of personal information as a function of age, income, and digital literacy. To examine how age and income affect the behaviors of online exposure and protection of personal information, a survey of 336 adults(between 20 to 60 years old) was conducted. Results showed that age was negatively related to online personal information protection behavior, indicating that older adults were less likely to engage in protection behaviors than younger adults. However, age did not influence online personal information exposure. Income was related to neither online behaviors of exposure nor protection of personal information. With regard to the four types of digital literacy (functional consumption, critical consumption, functional prosumption, critical prosumption), only critical prosumption was positively related to protection behavior. Interestingly, functional consumption was positively related to exposure behavior, which increased the risk of online personal information exposure. On the other hand, the effect of functional consumption on online personal information exposure behavior was moderated by age, confirming that older adults with high functional consumption were particularly susceptible to online personal information exposure. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are further discussed.