Open AccessA Typology-Based Approach to Tracing-App Adoption During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the SwissCovid App
Author(s) -
Sarah Geber,
Thomas N. Friemel
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of quantitative description: digital media
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2673-8813
DOI - 10.51685/jqd.2021.007
Subject(s) - typology , smartphone app , covid-19 , early adopter , tracing , perception , mobile apps , computer assisted web interviewing , business , internet privacy , psychology , marketing , computer science , world wide web , sociology , medicine , disease , pathology , neuroscience , infectious disease (medical specialty) , operating system , anthropology
Contact tracing technology has been introduced in many countries as part of the COVID-19 containment strategy. However, research indicates that current adoption rates are too low for tracing apps to be effective. To address the complexity of app adoption, a typology-based approach is presented that differentiates between refusers who generally reject app adoption, ditherers who hesitate to adopt the app, adopters who have downloaded and activated the app, and de-adopters who had installed the app but later uninstalled it. A national online survey of N = 1,535 participants in Switzerland revealed significant differences among these groups of people regarding their perceptions about app-related benefits and costs, knowledge about data handling in technology, and app-related opinion leadership. The results indicate that communication strategies that aim to enhance the rate of app adoption should focus on ditherers and adopters; the former are the most promising target group for behavioral change efforts, and the latter seem to be the best means to reach out to this promising group.