**1. Introduction**

Contact tracing of COVID-19 patients is a very important part of the global fight against COVID-19. Contact tracing, timely detection, and adequate isolation will play a significant role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 [1,2]. To implement contact tracing strategies, many digital contact tracing apps (DCTAs) were developed and widely used globally during the COVID-19 pandemic [3,4]. For example, Korea developed the "Selfisolation Safety Protection App", Singapore the "TraceTogether", Japan the "COCOA", France the "StopCovi", Germany the "Corona Warn", and China the "Health Code" [5–9]. A DCTA will automatically record an individual's travel history, and both the user and public health departments will be notified if the user enters a high-risk area or comes into contact with a suspected COVID-19 patient. The appearance of such apps is considered a public health intervention that could slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, as well as protect local health services [10,11].

Although DCTAs have been accorded high expectations, many studies have generally raised doubts about their effectiveness in the prevention of COVID-19 practices [10,12–14]. Many scholars believe that the premise for such apps to have an effect in helping prevent

**Citation:** Cao, J.; Liu, D.; Zhang, G.; Shang, M. The Impact of Digital Contact Tracing Apps Overuse on Prevention of COVID-19: A Normative Activation Model Perspective. *Life* **2022**, *12*, 1371. https://doi.org/10.3390/ life12091371

Academic Editors: Daniele Giansanti and Denis Harkin

Received: 10 August 2022 Accepted: 31 August 2022 Published: 2 September 2022

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

<sup>1</sup> School of Business, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China

COVID-19 is the need for mass adoption and continuous use [15,16]; however, the DCTA adoption rate is too low to realize its full potential in most countries [17]. First, several studies have suggested that the inconvenience brought about by a DCTA to people's lives affects its large-scale promotion, especially the privacy issue. A DCTA has issues with extensive personal information collection, multiple processing purposes, uncertain storage times, and vague privacy policies [9]. One survey claimed that many people in the UK refuse to use such apps because of privacy concerns [18]. A survey in Ireland noted that many people refused to use the app because they feared that tech companies or the government would use it to monitor users even after the COVID-19 pandemic was over [19]. Chinese users are concerned about the lack of transparency in the operation of DCTAs, the unclear scope of data storage, and the dependence on private companies to operate them [8]. South African users have also shown doubts about the app's ability to protect privacy [20]. In addition to serious privacy issues, DCTAs have caused many other inconveniences, such as incorrect tracking and problems affecting the normal use of mobile phones [8,21]. Studies have shown that many of the close contacts located by a DCTA did not have any contact with COVID-19 patients, but they were also wrongly traced and isolated [8,22]. The operation of a DCTA has also been shown to affect the users' normal use of their cell phones, such as reducing the phone's running speed and affecting its battery life [21]. Second, several studies have suggested that the potential digital divide issue may also affect the large-scale promotion of a DCTA. A study shows that the digital divide during the COVID-19 pandemic often influences some people to use new technologies to prevent COVID-19 [23]. Age, education, income, health status, and regional differences can lead to a digital divide that directly affects people's widespread use of the app [6,24]. A survey in Germany claimed that females and low-income households have lower rates of downloading the DCTA [6]. In a UK survey, it was found that the use of apps among those over 65 years old was low [25]. In addition, a study of the working population in Japan showed that the usage rate among small-company employees and vendors was low, while that among large-company employees and civil servants was high [7]. The reason this literature doubts the efficacy of DCTA is that most of the current literature consists of studies conducted in a free market environment where people who feel inconvenienced by the use of DCTA would simply stop using it without paying any price. However, research conducted in a government-led environment with large-scale mandatory DCTA use is missing.

In addition, it can be argued that the many inconveniences that a DCTA brings to people's lives are the main issues that lead to doubts about its effectiveness. However, one study confirmed that the benefits of a DCTA could offset its negative effects [26]. The use of a DCTA has been shown to be closely related to individual as well as social interests [4]. This may be reflected in an individual's sense of responsibility to family, friends, and the community (e.g., preventing transmission of the virus to others) [16,27]. Therefore, it is meaningful to explain the role of a DCTA in preventing COVID-19 in practice from the perspective of responsibility [11]. As more countries relax their control policies to prevent COVID-19, the trade-off between the benefits and negative effects of a DCTA will likely influence subsequent COVID-19 prevention behavior. The analysis of the role of a DCTA during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of both responsibility and inconvenience helps resolve the doubts. Regrettably, such studies are currently lacking.

To address these issues, an environment needs to be found in which the social epidemic is relatively stable, while the use of a DCTA is still mandatory on a large scale. China happens to provide a very good environment for investigation. In terms of the people who use it, the DCTA in China is mandatory, and no one can refuse to use it [8]. In terms of the extent of use, the use of DCTAs in China is also widespread, with various DCTAs developed by the central government and local governments. Many Chinese people are already excessively using DCTAs, as they are required to register and show their tracking information when entering or leaving any place, taking public transportation, and traveling across cities. The overuse of technology often has a negative impact [28]. The overuse of

DCTA technology in China does cause inconvenience to people's lives, such as privacy concerns, data security, error tracking, etc. [8]. China is undoubtedly one of the most successful countries in the world in terms of its performance in preventing COVID-19 [29]. Therefore, this study proposes the following research questions:

RQ1: Does the overuse of a DCTA still inspire a sense of responsibility for COVID-19 prevention?

RQ2: How does the responsibility and inconvenience of the overuse of a DCTA affect people's continued cooperation with the government to prevent COVID-19?

Therefore, this study builds its model based on the normative activation model (NAM) according to the actual research needs. People's psychological states can be better measured by structured scales, and a number of NAM-based studies on COVID-19 have also used the questionnaire-based approach [30,31]. The model is then validated by surveying Chinese residents to ultimately address the proposed questions. The results of this study will not only help policy makers improve the operation of DCTA applications in the post-COVID-19 era of prevention and control but will also contribute to the improvement of national policies related to epidemic prevention and control.
