Kannen Christopher, Sindermann Cornelia, Montag Christian
Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Computational Digital Psychology, Interchange Forum for Reflecting on Intelligent Systems, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
Heliyon. 2024 Mar 31;10(9):e28840. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28840. eCollection 2024 May 15.
WhatsApp has billions of users worldwide. Instead of paying a subscription fee, users provide their data for the use allowance. This data is used by Meta - the company behind WhatsApp - to obtain insights into user characteristics and monetize those insights. However, this data business model is among others criticized for fostering a loss of privacy that arises when platforms analyze user data, and for the use of design elements to attract users to the platform when they are not online or to extend their online time. Therefore, an increasing number of scientists are discussing whether other payment models are needed to overcome those disadvantages, like a monetary payment model. However, users would probably only pay for improved social media products. This paper provides an empirical basis for understanding the user perspective and, in particular, whether and how much users are willing to pay for improved social media products. For this, 2924 WhatsApp users' perspectives on this topic were investigated. They were asked whether and how much they are willing to pay money for a messenger/social media service when its quality would be improved. Variables potentially influencing Willingness to Pay (i.e., personality, sent/received messages) were studied as well. 47% of the participants were unwilling to pay for a healthier messenger service, and about a quarter were willing or stayed neutral. Further analysis revealed that more agreeable people were more willing to pay. Further: Higher Extraversion was associated with more sent/received messages, but the number of sent/received messages was not linked to Willingness to Pay. The present study shows that many users still are not willing to pay for social media (here messengers), which indicates that the advantages of paying for social media with money instead of with one's own data might need to be better communicated.
WhatsApp在全球拥有数十亿用户。用户无需支付订阅费，而是提供自己的数据以换取使用许可。WhatsApp背后的公司Meta利用这些数据来了解用户特征并将这些见解货币化。然而，这种数据商业模式受到了诸多批评，一方面是因为平台分析用户数据会导致隐私丧失，另一方面是因为使用设计元素在用户不在线时吸引他们使用该平台或延长其在线时间。因此，越来越多的科学家在讨论是否需要其他支付模式来克服这些缺点，比如货币支付模式。然而，用户可能只会为改进后的社交媒体产品付费。本文为理解用户观点提供了实证依据，特别是关于用户是否愿意以及愿意为改进后的社交媒体产品支付多少钱。为此，对2924名WhatsApp用户在这个问题上的观点进行了调查。他们被问及当即时通讯/社交媒体服务质量提高时，是否愿意以及愿意支付多少钱。还研究了可能影响支付意愿的变量（即个性、发送/接收的消息）。47%的参与者不愿意为更健康的即时通讯服务付费，约四分之一的人愿意或持中立态度。进一步分析表明，更随和的人更愿意付费。此外：外向性越高，发送/接收的消息越多，但发送/接收的消息数量与支付意愿无关。本研究表明，许多用户仍然不愿意为社交媒体（这里指即时通讯应用）付费，这表明用钱而非用自己的数据为社交媒体付费的好处可能需要更好地传达。
