Background: To track and reduce the spread of COVID-19, apps have been developed to identify contact with individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 and warn those who are at risk of having contracted the virus. However, the effectiveness of these apps depends highly on their uptake by the general population. Objective: The present study investigated factors influencing app use intention, based on the health belief model. In addition, associations with respondents’ level of news consumption and their health condition were investigated. Methods: A survey was administered in Flanders, Belgium, to 1500 respondents, aged 18 to 64 years. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate relationships across the model’s constructs. Results: In total, 48.70% (n=730) of respondents indicated that they intend to use a COVID-19 tracing app. The most important predictor was the perceived benefits of the app, followed by self-efficacy and perceived barriers. Perceived severity and perceived susceptibility were not related to app uptake intention. Moreover, cues to action (ie, individuals’ exposure to [digital] media content) were positively associated with app use intention. As the respondents’ age increased, their perceived benefits and self-efficacy for app usage decreased. Conclusions: Initiatives to stimulate the uptake of contact tracing apps should enhance perceived benefits and self-efficacy. A perceived barrier for some potential users is privacy concerns. Therefore, when developing and launching an app, clarification on how individuals’ privacy will be protected is needed. To sustain perceived benefits in the long run, supplementary options could be integrated to inform and assist users.

Background: In several countries, contact tracing apps (CTAs) have been introduced to warn users if they have had high-risk contacts that could expose them to SARS-CoV-2 and could, therefore, develop COVID-19 or further transmit the virus. For CTAs to be effective, a sufficient critical mass of users is needed. Until now, adoption of these apps in several countries has been limited, resulting in questions on which factors prevent app uptake or stimulate discontinuation of app use. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate individuals’ reasons for not using, or stopping use of, a CTA, in particular, the Coronalert app. Users’ and nonusers’ attitudes toward the app’s potential impact was assessed in Belgium. To further stimulate interest and potential use of a CTA, the study also investigated the population’s interest in new functionalities. Methods: An online survey was administered in Belgium to a sample of 1850 respondents aged 18 to 64 years. Data were collected between October 30 and November 2, 2020. Sociodemographic differences were assessed between users and nonusers. We analyzed both groups’ attitudes toward the potential impact of CTAs and their acceptance of new app functionalities. Results: Our data showed that 64.9% (1201/1850) of our respondents were nonusers of the CTA under study; this included individuals who did not install the app, those who downloaded but did not activate the app, and those who uninstalled the app. While we did not find any sociodemographic differences between users and nonusers, attitudes toward the app and its functionalities seemed to differ. The main reasons for not downloading and using the app were a perceived lack of advantages (308/991, 31.1%), worries about privacy (290/991, 29.3%), and, to a lesser extent, not having a smartphone (183/991, 18.5%). Users of the CTA agreed more with the potential of such apps to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. Overall, nonusers found the possibility of extending the CTA with future functionalities to be less acceptable than users. However, among users, acceptability also tended to differ. Among users, functionalities relating to access and control, such as digital certificates or “green cards” for events, were less accepted (358/649, 55.2%) than functionalities focusing on informing citizens about the spread of the virus (453/649, 69.8%) or making an appointment to get tested (525/649, 80.9%). Conclusions: Our results show that app users were more convinced of the CTA’s utility and more inclined to accept new app features than nonusers. Moreover, nonusers had more CTA-related privacy concerns. Therefore, to further stimulate app adoption and use, its potential advantages and privacy-preserving mechanisms need to be stressed. Building further knowledge on the forms of resistance among nonusers is important for responding to these barriers through the app’s further development and communication campaigns.

Often coined as digital natives, contemporary teens are ascribed a paradoxical status of skilled but vulnerable media users. Therefore, media literacy initiatives often target young audiences in order to mitigate detrimental media effects as well as to facilitate emancipatory media engagements. The literature on media literacy draws from diverse disciplines (e.g. educational sciences, media studies) and examines a wide range of thematic areas (e.g. privacy, news, citizenship). However, the voices of those who are the target population of media literacy policy and research are seldom heard. We identify the absence of teenagers’ perceptions and experiences as a limitation in contemporary debates on media literacy. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on how teenagers give meaning to media literacy, how they perceive the contemporary discourse on the importance of media literacy for teens, and in which way they encounter concrete media literacy initiatives at school. Based on in-depth interviews with 31 high-school students between 16 and 18 year old, we found how teenagers primarily have a risk discourse in mind when talking about media literacy. Contextualizing these perceptions, it became clear that both the public discourse and media literacy initiatives largely draw from protectionist approaches. IMPACT SUMMARY a. Prior State of Knowledge: Teenagers and children are oftentimes seen as avid but vulnerable media users. Therefore, this demographic is often the target population of media literacy initiatives. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, the field of media literacy aims to both understand and facilitate youth’s critical engagements with media. b. Novel Contributions: We identify the lack of a meaningful engagement with teenagers’ own conceptualizations of media literacy as a limitation in scholarly and policy debates. To address this, we contextualize how teenagers give meaning to media literacy by exploring their experiences with media literacy discourses and initiatives in secondary education. c. Practical Implications: This study has practical implications for policymakers who aim for an emancipatory approach of media literacy. Gaining insight into teenagers’ perceptions and experiences is paramount to move beyond the top-down development of media literacy initiatives. The results are also important for media literacy researchers because of its implications for future study designs.

This study employs the orientation–stimulus–reasoning–orientation–response (O-S-R-O-R) framework to examine how multi-platform news consumption is associated with civic participation during the COVID-19 pandemic (offline and via social media) and how this relation is mediated by civic talk and civic attitudes. A survey was administered to 1500 adults in Belgium. Results from structural equation modelling indicate how civic talk with weak ties is not associated with civic attitudes or participation. Analysis of indirect effects reveals that multi-platform news consumption stimulates two different types of participation, through civic talk with strong ties and civic attitudes. The results shed light on previously unexplored pathways towards participation, while providing support for the O-S-R-O-R framework and highlighting the role of social media as an emerging arena for civic participation.

It often remains unclear how young citizens are combining various forms of political participation, as well as why they choose some over others, especially within a single-issue movement. Moreover, little is known about how social networking sites (SNS) fit into the political repertoires of citizens. Therefore, this study explores youths’ political participation patterns in the context of the 2019 youth-led climate strikes. We rely on data from a paper and pencil survey among 498 high school students in Belgium. To identify different types of activists, the study used latent class analysis (LCA). In addition, a multinomial logistic regression was conducted to assess how identified participation types differ from each other. Four different participation repertoires regarding the climate issue were identified, each distinctive in the way they rely on different forms of political participation. In addition, membership to each of the different classes is associated with a unique set of characteristics (in terms of political efficacies, climate issue involvement, and online expression motives). The article shows how SNS make up a crucial part of youths’ issue-specific participation patterns and sheds light on the mechanisms underlying their participation choices within the climate movement.