DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY AS A PREDICTOR OF ONLINE PRIVACY CONCERNS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Rapid advances in digital technology have heightened concerns about the privacy and safety of personal information online. University students, among the heaviest users of digital platforms, are an important group for understanding how digital skills shape privacy awareness. This study examined the link between digital media literacy (DML) and online privacy concerns (OPC) among Pakistani university students. Using a quantitative survey on Google Forms, complete responses were obtained from 216 students, and both scales showed strong reliability. Digital media literacy and privacy concern were strongly and positively related (r = .601, p < .001), with digital media literacy explaining about 36% of the variance in privacy concern. The direction itself is revealing rather than making users complacent, greater digital literacy went with greater concern, supporting the awareness (knowledge-risk) side of the Privacy Paradox while leaving its behavioral side untested. No significant gender differences emerged for either variable. The findings make a practical case for building explicit privacy modules into digital-literacy education in Pakistan.