Song Changi, Kim Eunho
Department of Psychology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
Department of Management Information Systems, Dong-A University, Busan 49236, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Apr 2;15(4):458. doi: 10.3390/bs15040458.
The shift toward new media has brought changes to market participants. New media literacy has emerged as a necessary competency for consumers, and brand engagement has become a key goal of brand communication. However, despite the established importance of new media literacy, how it affects perceptions and reactions toward brand communication has not been investigated. This study examined how functional and critical consuming literacy, which are components of new media literacy, influence brand engagement through the mediating roles of perceived interactivity and openness and the moderating effect of age. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 260 South Korean adults and a hypothetical brand's social media post. The results showed that the effect of functional consuming literacy on engagement varied by age: functional consuming literacy in the younger group decreased perceived interactivity, perceived openness, and brand engagement. In the older group, functional consuming literacy preliminarily increased perceived interactivity. Critical consuming literacy enhanced perceived interactivity and openness, positively affecting brand engagement across all ages. This study reframes new media literacy as critical in shaping consumer behavior and brand interactions. These findings suggest that new media literacy is a critical variable in understanding consumer behavior in the new media era.
向新媒体的转变给市场参与者带来了变化。新媒体素养已成为消费者必备的能力，品牌参与度已成为品牌传播的关键目标。然而，尽管新媒体素养的重要性已得到确立，但它如何影响对品牌传播的认知和反应尚未得到研究。本研究考察了作为新媒体素养组成部分的功能性和批判性消费素养如何通过感知互动性和开放性的中介作用以及年龄的调节作用来影响品牌参与度。对260名韩国成年人和一个虚拟品牌的社交媒体帖子进行了横断面研究。结果表明，功能性消费素养对参与度的影响因年龄而异：较年轻群体的功能性消费素养降低了感知互动性、感知开放性和品牌参与度。在较年长群体中，功能性消费素养初步提高了感知互动性。批判性消费素养增强了感知互动性和开放性，对所有年龄段的品牌参与度都有积极影响。本研究将新媒体素养重新界定为塑造消费者行为和品牌互动的关键因素。这些发现表明，新媒体素养是理解新媒体时代消费者行为的关键变量。
