The Impact of Data Privacy Concerns on Consumer Attitudes Towards YouTube Among Generation Z in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The paper examines how the concern of data privacy affects the attitudes of the Sri Lankan generation Z towards YouTube. Whilst the generation Z are digital natives, they highly engaged in online platforms, especially YouTube which also gathers important personal data to deliver personalized content and advertisements. Nevertheless, the increasing concerns over safety issues, data mis usage, and weak control over personal data provokes questions of how these circumstances affect changes in user attitudes and behaviours. The study intends to focus on how the different aspects of data privacy influence the consumer perceptions of YouTube with respect to consumer trust, the engagement with content, and the readiness to disclose personal information. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Privacy Calculus Theory, and the Social Exchange Theory, this study presents a conceptual framework with three dimensions such as the privacy concerns, privacy risks, and privacy control. The research design will be descriptive and cross-sectional, and data will be collected through an online survey among the Sri Lankan generation Z. The findings will add to the corpus of knowledge with a specific literature gap related to the Sri Lankan context and will provide practical intelligence that could be utilized by the marketers, policy makers and the developers of digital platforms. The results of the study may inform the development of more privacy-friendly advertising practices and regulatory contingencies that resonate with the preferences and habits of the newer generation of digital citizens.