The smart wearables-privacy paradox : a cluster analysis of smartwatch users

• Main Authors: Kang, Hyunjin, Jung, Eun Hwa
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication; Smart Wearables-Privacy Paradox; Smartwatch
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/154564
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Smart wearables are revolutionising how users communicate and acquire information. Yet, the user benefits of smart wearables largely depend on the devices’ ability to collect and analyze a large amount of user data, shaping smart wearables-privacy paradox. The current study explores user responses to the smart wearables-privacy paradox through a survey with smartwatch users (N = 494). Using a cluster analysis method, we identified three distinct groups of smartwatch users–ambivalent, benefit-oriented, and neutral–based on their responses to the smart wearables-privacy paradox. The ambivalent users, who exhibit high levels of both perceived benefit and privacy concerns, were the largest group, followed by benefit-oriented, and neutral groups. We found that the ambivalent users, compared to the benefit-oriented users, tend to be young, male and highly educated, and to show high levels of technology self-efficacy and smartwatch usage. However, the ambivalent users displayed less positive attitudes and a lower continued intention of using the smartwatches than the benefit-oriented users.