Social Acceptance of Emerging Technologies for Combating COVID-19

Abstract

In COVID-19, the use of science and technology is required to achieve a balance between infection control and the maintenance of socioeconomic activities. In doing so, people’s understanding and acceptance of science and technology are indispensable. Therefore, in this study, we took up three new technologies that contribute to COVID-19 countermeasures: contact confirmation application (COCOA), health observation application, and sewage surveillance, measured the cognitive and affective factors toward each technology and the attitude toward social acceptance, and examined the psychological factors that prescribe the acceptance attitude. The results showed that trust in performance, perceived benefits, perceived risks, and negative emotions toward the technology were significant determinants for all the technologies.