Privacy-related factors on social media users’ privacy protection behaviors: an APFO model perspective

Purpose This study aims to empirically examine the impact of privacy-related factors, including privacy concerns, privacy experiences, privacy literacy and privacy fatigue, on social media users’ privacy protection behavioral intention (PPBI). Design/methodology/approach Using the antecedents, privacy fatigue and outcome (APFO) as a framework, a research model incorporating privacy concerns, privacy experiences and privacy literacy as independent variables, privacy fatigue as a mediator and PPBI as the dependent variable was proposed and tested with data from 1,074 social media users in China. Findings The results show that privacy experiences, privacy literacy and privacy fatigue are positively associated with PPBI. Furthermore, privacy concerns and privacy experiences exhibit a positive relationship with privacy fatigue, while privacy literacy is negatively related to privacy fatigue. Notably, privacy fatigue fully mediates the relationship between privacy concerns and PPBI, while partially mediating the effects of privacy experiences and privacy literacy on PPBI. Originality/value This study introduces the APFO framework, providing a comprehensive integration of antecedents and outcomes related to PPBI. These findings contribute to digital privacy by shedding light on the factors that shape user behavior in an increasingly complex online privacy environment.