2.1. Protection Motivation Theory and Information Privacy Concerns
For cyber security, many researchers have used the protection motivation theory (PMT) to know what exactly motivates internet users to guard against cyber security threats [
16,
17]. The PMT guides our theoretical development because it can model interest in protective privacy behaviors in various contexts [
18]. This paper also attempted to probe what exactly motivates teens to protect their online information privacy and how teens perceive information privacy concerns. This theoretical framework comprises the information source, perception mediation process, and response mode. It is based on the following hypotheses: protection motivation is derived from the cognitive assessment of adverse incidents and possible events, and a coping response is considered to prevent these events effectively [
12]; further, protection motivation may lead to specific behaviors to cope with risk or threat [
19]. Suppose this theory is applied in the context of online information privacy. In that case, teens’ concerns about information privacy can be considered as a kind of protection motivation, which can induce them to take appropriate actions to reduce privacy risks. Results have shown that individuals concerned about information privacy are more likely to take appropriate actions to protect online privacy [
14]. In this sense, what motivates the protection behavior against information privacy risk may come from the perceived cost of expected behavior and the perceived benefit of risky behavior. In other words, information privacy concerns are considered a critical factor linking privacy awareness and privacy protection behaviors.
The concept and scale of Internet Users’ Information Privacy Concerns (IUIPC), intended to indicate how internet users value personal information, were first put forward by Malhotra et al. (2004) [
20]. Precisely speaking, it refers to the public’s view on data inputs, use, and control on the internet. The practice boundaries of information privacy vary across industries, cultures, regulatory provisions, and many other factors. As a result, people often hold different views on the attempt of internet companies to collect and use their personal information [
20,
21]. Information privacy concerns were initially applied to the e-commerce sector, which was intended to assess how online consumers are concerned about information privacy [
22]. Internet development has extended this concept to other areas associated with the internet. For instance, one researcher has recently introduced some scales of this concept to measure online consumers’ information privacy awareness when buying goods [
23].
Moreover, another researcher surveyed teen users on the social media platform Facebook in order to assess the effects of their information privacy concerns on trust awareness, risk awareness, and intention to act concerning Facebook [
24]. The vital function of information privacy concerns in privacy protection has been observed previously. Information privacy concerns were primarily seen as the factors impacting or being impacted to reveal the correlations between information privacy concerns and behavior or perception. However, the existing literature has not yet looked into the correlations. Of course, previous research noted that information privacy concerns could mediate outcomes between privacy awareness and privacy behaviors [
25,
26], but the correlations among perceived risk, disclosure benefits, privacy concerns and protection behaviors were not examined in non-western cultures. The concept of information privacy concerns was not measured on a full scale.
The IUIPC framework consists of three dimensions: collection, control, and awareness. The core idea of these three dimensions is that after evaluating the reliability and fairness of collecting private information from enterprises and third-party institutions, network consumers decide whether they can provide personal information to websites. It is similar to the PMT: a behavioral logic for people to take corresponding actions when they face risks to personal information privacy after they have evaluated the social environment.
In addition, while the IUIPC and PMT perspectives provide the rationale for including privacy concerns, perceived risk, and perceived benefits as predictors of online privacy protection behaviors, in the Chinese context, culture is likely to play a crucial role in these relationships. For instance, Krasnova et al. (2012) [
27] found that culture impacts people’s privacy disclosure behaviors. They believe that Germany has a more collectivist culture while the United States has a more individualistic one. After comparing Facebook users in the two countries, they concluded that a higher level of individualism facilitates the development of trusting beliefs, thereby stimulating users to reveal information. However, recent studies have focused mainly on western countries and paid less attention to the privacy issues of Chinese teenagers. As China is a typical example of collectivist culture, the privacy interests, risks, and privacy concerns of Chinese teenagers may have different influences on their protection behavior.
Hence, information privacy concerns were considered as the motivation for privacy protection behaviors, and the PMT was applied in the context of China. Information privacy concerns are a mediator variable that can explain the correlation between Chinese teens’ cognitive assessment (or the perceived risk and importance of information privacy leaks) and information privacy protection behaviors [
23,
25]. In another way, the perceived risk and benefits of online information privacy would impact teens’ information privacy concerns and impact their information privacy protection behaviors.
2.2. Perceived Privacy Risk, Perceived Disclosure Benefits, and Information Privacy Concerns
Perceived risk and benefits constitute an integral part of the tradeoffs in information privacy transactions. Perceived privacy risk is the “expected loss associated with personal information disclosure” [
28]. Under certain circumstances, such disclosure may result in an improper use of the disclosed information by other organizations or individuals, which, in turn, causes users to endure uncertain losses [
29,
30]. According to the theory of rational action, perceived privacy risk is considered a passive perception that impacts personal attitude, and attitude is defined as a kind of acquired tendency [
31]. Information privacy concerns are correlated with personal anxiety about privacy [
32]. In threatening scenarios, unpleasant feelings (such as anxiety) would intensify due to perceived risk [
33].
Consequently, higher risk awareness may lead to more concerns about personal privacy and vice versa [
34]. For instance, Dinev and Hart (2006) [
30] found that individuals with higher perceived privacy risks would be more concerned about information privacy in the scenarios of online transactions. Seounmi Youn (2009) [
26] surveyed teens and found that perceived privacy risk is the most critical factor explaining information privacy concerns. We proposed the first hypothesis:
H1. Teens with higher perceived privacy risks would be more concerned about information privacy.
Perceived disclosure benefits do not have a specific definition. Milne and Gordon (1993) found that people do not mind providing their personal information when they can obtain certain benefits. These benefits include information, entertainment, or economic value, such as gifts, benefits, or convenient services after providing personal information. Some scholars also thought that most of the related works were performed in the context of online transactions, so the concept of “perceived benefits” is considered a discounted or unpaid service [
35]. Following the above works, we define perceived disclosure benefits as the expected benefits of personal information disclosure. On a social media platform, the factors that motivate an individual to disclose information are maintaining and developing relations and feeling the convenience brought by the platform [
27]. Disclosure benefits are an intrinsic motivation that positively impacts the intention to disclose personal information required for online transactions [
30]. Many researchers have illustrated the social media platform Facebook as an example. They found that undergraduates may provide personal information after receiving benefits from Facebook such as making new social contacts and learning new things [
34,
36]. In a survey of teens, Youn (2005; 2009) [
13,
26] found that teens would instead provide personal information to social platforms because they think this will have entertainment, communication, information, and social intercourse benefits. The perceived benefits from information exchange would reduce their privacy concerns. In this regard, we proposed the second hypothesis:
H2. Teens with higher disclosure benefits would be less concerned about information privacy.
2.3. Perceived Privacy Risk, Perceived Disclosure Benefits, and Privacy Protection Behaviors
Taking the cost and benefit in economics into account, individuals have to trade between benefits and risks due to data disclosure [
37]. The typical benefits of sharing personal data include discounted prices for goods and services, better convenience, and facilitated social intercourse [
38]. However, data sharing also leads to invisible risks, including all kinds of adverse consequences arising from personal data disclosure. For instance, security defects, identity theft, or accidental use by any third party [
39]. The PMT holds that individuals will have different protection motivations and protection behaviors with two options on their hands, partly because the motivation and behaviors meant to guard against risk derive from perceived risk, and partly because the perceived benefits associated with risky behavior reduce personal intention and behavior to guard against risk [
12,
19].
Researchers have examined the correlation between perceived privacy risk and privacy protection behaviors. For example, individuals may submit falsified data, refuse to buy goods or register information online, or request to have their data deleted to lessen privacy risks [
25,
40]. In a word, individuals may take appropriate behaviors for privacy protection depending on different levels of perceived risk. The third hypothesis was thus presented:
H3. Teens with higher perceived privacy risks would be more likely to take appropriate actions to protect online privacy.
Apart from the effects of perceived risk, many researchers found that if individuals consider that the benefits of information disclosure outweigh the risks, they will reduce the intention to protect their privacy and disclose personal information [
27,
40]. If they perceive that the social or economic gain outweighs the attendant reduction in privacy, they will sacrifice their privacy. Otherwise, they will not [
41]. The PMT also states that the perceived benefits associated with risky behavior weaken individuals’ intention to protect themselves from risks [
12]. Suppose the PMT is applied in internet scenarios. In that case, the benefits from information disclosure exchange offered by internet companies will discourage the personal motivation to guard against risk and reduce actions taken to protect privacy. We proposed the fourth hypothesis:
H4. Teens with higher perceived disclosure benefits would be less likely to take appropriate actions to protect online privacy.
2.4. Information Privacy Concerns and Privacy Protection Behaviors
Recent surveys and studies have shown that users’ privacy concerns lead to personal protection responses [
13,
23,
32,
42]. What motivates the protective actions is the desire to avoid losses arising from internet companies’ misuse of personal information [
43]. Existing studies have supported that information privacy concerns significantly impact tendencies toward personal information disclosure [
30], and that internet users with privacy concerns are more likely to refuse to provide their personal information [
42]. For example, adult users with greater privacy concerns would be more inclined to take the avoidance strategy on Facebook to protect personal information [
35].
However, according to the privacy paradox theory, individual privacy attitudes and actual behaviors may deviate, i.e., internet users are concerned about privacy, but their behaviors do not show these concerns, even to the extent that they will freely give up personal privacy to seek benefits from online activities [
14,
23,
39,
44]. Given the paradox between information privacy concerns and privacy protection behaviors, and the fact that information privacy concerns are generally considered the key factor explaining privacy protection behaviors [
42], the correlation between individual privacy attitudes and behaviors needs to be further examined. We proposed the fifth hypothesis:
H5. Teens who are more concerned with information privacy would be more likely to take appropriate actions to protect online privacy.
Available studies have identified factors impacting information privacy concerns and privacy protection behaviors. However, previous studies are inconsistent about what drives information privacy concerns and how this factor impacts individual behaviors [
39]. Further, some researchers looked at the relationship between privacy concerns and individual behaviors [
26]. However, the variables were measured using summation instead of considering the impact of measurement error. The sample size was small, and the statistical power of the analytical method was insufficient, so there were some flaws [
26]. Given this point, the sixth and seventh hypotheses are derived from an integrated survey of the correlations between perceived privacy risk, perceived disclosure benefits, information privacy concerns, and teens’ online privacy protection behaviors, with information privacy concerns treated as a mediator variable:
H6. Teens’ information privacy concerns mediate the correlation between perceived privacy risk and privacy protection behaviors on the internet.
H7. Teens’ information privacy concerns can mediate the correlation between perceived disclosure benefits and privacy protection behaviors on the internet.
Based on the literature review as summarized above, the theoretical model for this work was proposed as below (
Figure 1) [
26]: