Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in preventive behaviors of COVID-19 between urban and rural residents, as well as identify the factors that might contribute to such differences. Methods: Our online survey included 1591 participants from 31 provinces of China with 87% urban and 13% rural residents. We performed multiple linear regressions and path analysis to examine the relationship between rural status and behavioral intention, attitude, subjective norms, information appraisal, knowledge, variety of information source use, and preventive behaviors against COVID-19. Findings: Compared with urban residents, rural residents were less likely to perform preventive behaviors, more likely to hold a negative attitude toward the effectiveness of performing preventive behaviors, and more likely to have lower levels of information appraisal skills. We identified information appraisal as a significant factor that might contribute to the rural/urban differences in preventive behaviors against COVID-19 through attitude, subjective norms, and intention. We found no rural/urban differences in behavioral intention, subjective norms, knowledge about preventive behaviors, or the variety of interpersonal/media source use. Conclusions: As the first wave of the pandemic inundated urban areas, the current media coverage about COVID-19 prevention may not fully satisfy the specific needs of rural populations. Thus, rural residents were less likely to engage in a thoughtful process of information appraisal and adopt the appropriate preventive measures. Tailoring health messages to meet rural populations’ unique needs can be an effective strategy to promote preventive health behaviors against COVID-19.

The pervasiveness of smartphones and the popularity of short-form video applications (SVAs), such as TikTok, among middle-aged Chinese adults have raised concerns about problematic SVAs use. Although a plethora of research has examined problematic smartphone use among teenagers and young adults, scarce attention has been paid to the middle-aged group. This study integrates the psychopathological approach and the compensatory use approach to explicate problematic SVAs use among middle-aged Chinese adults. We aim to examine the relationship between stress and problematic SVAs use via the mediating roles of duration of use and flow experience. A total of 194 middle-aged adults from across the nation participated in an online survey. The results showed that stress was positively associated with problematic SVAs use. We also found that duration of use positively mediated the relationship between stress and problematic SVAs use. Furthermore, a serial mediation effect of duration of use and flow experience was found. The findings suggest that the aforementioned two approaches are complementary to each other in explicating problematic SVAs use, but the compensatory use approach explains more than the psychopathological approach does. Flow experience extends the original compensatory use approach and demonstrates the importance of incorporating techno-psychological predictors in understanding problematic SVAs use.

With a general basis in protection motivation theory, this study builds a three-stage model from online negative privacy experiences to online privacy protection motivation to online privacy protection behaviors. With 2013 survey data (N = 528), a well-fitting structural equation model was tested, indicating general support for the model’s progression. There was support in only one instance, however, for the mediation role of online privacy protection motivation. In that case, awareness of online information disclosure mediated the effects of information stolen on contact management. The other protection motivation—online privacy concerns—had stronger effects on the four online privacy protection behaviors.

This study aims to test the third-person effect (TPE) in the perception of Internet privacy risks. Support was found for a TPE model suggesting that users report greater perceived Internet privacy risks on others than on themselves, based on a sample (N = 613) from Amazon MTurk. In particular, the differential perception of Internet privacy risks between self and others increased people’s willingness to recommend protective measures to others but decreased their willingness to adopt protective measures themselves. Moreover, social distance, perceived Internet privacy knowledge, negative online privacy experiences, and Internet use activities emerged as significant predictors of TPE perceptions about Internet privacy risks. Study findings indicated that third-person perception is one of the major barriers inhibiting the adoption of privacy protection measures. The antecedents of TPE perceptions detected here provide valuable implications about how to enable Internet users to protect their privacy security.