Cultural Differences in the Use of Augmented Reality Smart Glasses (ARSGs) Between the U.S. and South Korea: Privacy Concerns and the Technology Acceptance Model

Augmented Reality Smart Glasses (ARSGs) allow users to engage in picture-taking and video recording, as well as real-time storage and sharing of pictures and videos through cloud services. Unlike smartphones, newer ARSGs resemble ordinary sunglasses, allowing for unobtrusive recording. As these devices become available on an international market, it is important to understand how different cultural attitudes towards privacy and the recording and sharing of images of bystanders could impact the acceptance and adoption of ARSGs. South Korea and the United States have vastly different culturally based perceptions of photography and recording in public. S. Korea has cultural and legal restrictions in place, while the U.S.’s values of freedom of expression and individual rights are reflected in limited restrictions. Accordingly, drawing upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this paper explored the impact of privacy concerns on key constructs of the TAM for U.S. and S. Korean participants. This paper examined how Americans’ (U.S. = 402) and S. Koreans’ (S. Korea = 898) perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward using, and behavioral intention to use ARSGs were impacted by privacy concerns. The results of this study found that S. Korean respondents had significantly greater privacy concerns about using ARSGs than U.S. respondents. However, they also had significantly more positive attitudes and greater behavioral intentions to use ARSGs. Path analyses examining ARSGs’ acceptance revealed that privacy concerns impacted attitudes towards ARSGs, but that these had a greater impact on U.S. participants than on Koreans. The results highlight the importance of considering nuanced cultural perspectives, specifically privacy concerns, in examining the development and adoption of new technologies. Raw data and scripts for this study are available to ensure reproducibility.