Cultural Influences on Chinese Citizens' Adoption of Digital Contact Tracing: A Human Infrastructure Perspective

Title of the Paper

"Cultural Influences on Chinese Citizens' Adoption of Digital Pandemic Tracking: A Human Infrastructure Perspective"

Paper Information

• Subject Areas: Human-Computer Interaction, Cultural Studies, Pandemic Informatics
• Keywords: Cultural Studies, Infrastructure, Crisis Informatics, Contact Tracing, COVID-19 Pandemic, Human Infrastructure, Influencing Factors

Research Background and Issues

• Issues and Challenges: While digital contact tracing technology has proven effective in pandemic control, public acceptance remains low in many countries, particularly due to concerns over privacy and its association with governmental authority.
• Significance: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to global public health systems. Understanding how digital contact tracing technology is widely accepted by citizens in different cultural contexts is crucial for improving pandemic response efficiency.
• Research Motivation and Related Work: The rapid adoption of digital contact tracing in China, with adoption rates far exceeding those in many other countries, has drawn researchers' attention to the cultural factors influencing this phenomenon. Previous studies have rarely systematically analyzed the role of culture in the acceptance of large-scale technological infrastructures.

Solution

• Research Methodology: This study employs a qualitative research approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with 26 Chinese participants to explore the adoption of digital contact tracing and its cultural influences in China.
• Innovations:
  1. Introduces the "human infrastructure" perspective to analyze the process by which digital contact tracing technology becomes a socio-technical infrastructure.
  2. Highlights the influence of collectivism and Confucian thought in shaping technology acceptance and user behavior in China.
  3. Proposes that friction is a critical indicator of infrastructure operation in crisis contexts.
• Implementation Steps:
  1. Observing discussions about digital contact tracing among Chinese netizens on social media to establish a preliminary understanding.
  2. Designing and conducting semi-structured interviews to investigate user experiences and interactions.
  3. Applying thematic analysis to the data and summarizing cultural influences at the national, organizational, and interpersonal levels.

Research Findings

• Specific Findings:
  1. Digital contact tracing has become a socio-technical infrastructure in China, deeply embedded in daily life.
  2. Culture has a profound impact on citizens' attitudes and behaviors, such as prioritizing collective interests, adhering to social order, and practicing self-discipline.
  3. Citizens have formed a human infrastructure that supports the operation of digital contact tracing, including assisting others in using the technology, resolving technical issues, and collaborating with administrators.
• Comparative Advantages: Compared to other countries, Chinese citizens exhibit a higher level of acceptance of this technology. This is attributed to China's unique cultural characteristics (e.g., collectivism and Confucian thought) and the government's strong policy enforcement.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  1. At the national level, information monitoring is accepted, with citizens perceiving it as necessary in the context of the pandemic.
  2. At the organizational level, despite inconveniences caused by local regulations and technical issues, most citizens demonstrate a willingness to cooperate.
  3. At the interpersonal level, social norms based on technology have been reshaped, such as interacting only with individuals who possess a green health code.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  1. The sample is non-random, and the relatively high educational background of participants may limit the generalizability of the findings.
  2. Longitudinal studies are recommended to observe how digital contact tracing infrastructures influence new forms of social relationships over time.

Conclusion and Implications

• Conclusion: The adoption of digital contact tracing by Chinese citizens is significantly influenced by cultural factors. Collectivism and Confucian thought have shaped how citizens support the operation of this technological infrastructure during the pandemic.
• Implications:
  1. Friction can serve as an indicator of risk perception in infrastructure operation.
  2. Exploring the role of culture in the expansion of technological infrastructures can enhance understanding of the drivers behind technology acceptance.
  3. Conducting more research on technology-society interactions in non-Western cultural contexts will address gaps in the field of human-computer interaction.