Consumers' Needs for Public Education and Corporate Participation Regarding Child Internet Addiction: Based on the Risk Perception Attitude Framework

Internet addiction, which causes physical, behavioral, and psychological problems, especially in children, is becoming an increasingly common disorder in contemporary society. This study investigated the needs of consumers for public education and corporate participation in South Korea to prevent or reduce the risk to young children becoming addicted to the Internet, and classified consumers into four groups according to their risk perception and efficacy beliefs using the Risk Perception Attitude framework. The expressed consumer need for public education was higher for groups with low efficacy beliefs, whereas the expressed need for corporate participation was higher for groups with high efficacy beliefs. These results indicate that consumers who perceive the risk as out of their control feel a higher need for a public approach, while those with high efficacy beliefs feel a higher need for corporate efforts.