THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INTENSITY ON DIGITAL LITERACY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE OF CYBERCRIME AMONG THAI INTERNET USERS

Abstract

“In the digital age, literacy is no longer about reading and writing—it’s about critical engagement, security awareness, and informed participation.” The quantitative research methodology applied in this research. The objectives of this study were 1) investigated the relationship between social media intensity and digital literacy and 2) studied perceived cybercrime knowledge as a mediator between relationship between social media intensity and digital literacy. The sample were 600 Thai internet users with purposive sampling. Research tools were perceived cybercrime knowledge scale, social media intensity scale, and digital literacy scale. Research tools met the content validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85, 0.84, and 0.80 respectively. Data analyzed by using PROCESS macro version 4.2 (Model 4).

The results revealed that SMI had a significant total effect on DGL (B = .3400, p < .001, β = .2878), and the direct effect remained significant even after controlling for the mediator (B = .3377, p < .001, β = .2859). However, the indirect effect of SMI on DGL through PKC was non-significant (B = .0022, Boot CI = [−.0317, .0396], β = .0019). These findings suggest that while social media use significantly predicts digital literacy, this relationship is not mediated by perceived knowledge of cybercrime. Implications are discussed in the context of digital education and media exposure in the digital age.