디지털 소비자역량이 소비생활 복지에 미치는 영향: 연령집단 간 비교

This study aims to examine the impact of digital consumer competence on consumption life well-being across different age groups and to suggest practical directions for enhancing consumer welfare in digital environments. A survey was conducted with three age groupsyoung, middle-aged, and older adults-and the data were analyzed using ANOVA and regression analysis to compare group differences. The results showed no significant differences in the overall scores of digital consumer competence across age groups. However, clear disparities were found in specific sub-competences. Younger adults exhibited higher levels of functional competence focused on digital tool usage, but demonstrated lower knowledge in areas such as digital transactions and digital contents usage. Middle-aged adults showed relatively high knowledge-based competence but lower functional performance. Older adults were the most vulnerable in comprehensive functional competences, including critically information evaluation, digital transactions, and privacy protection. Notably, older adults showed lower levels of consumption satisfaction and consumer self confidence compared to other age groups, likely due to their limited ability to cope with digital environments. Across all age groups, digital consumer citizenship competence had a significant effect on consumption satisfaction, while digital transaction competence significantly influenced consumer self confidence. In addition, digital transaction and problem-solving competences were key predictors of consumption life well-being among younger adults. For the middle-aged group, consumer citizenship competence played the most influential role, while for older adults, digital transaction and privacy management competences emerged as the most critical factors. These findings suggest that the types and priorities of digital consumer competences required for consumption life well-being differ by age group. This study empirically confirms the impact of digital consumer competence on consumption life well-being and provides foundational insights for the development of age-specific consumer education and digital inclusion policies.