Table 1 Scores for each item and findings of exploratory factor analysis (EFA)

1

Finding questions on the internet

2.58 (1.29)

2

Preference of searching the internet

2.71 (1.26)

3

Thinking of search words

2.46 (1.22)

0.73

0.73

4

Navigating websites

2.40 (1.27)

5

Storing information

2.22 (1.50)

6

Understanding medical terms

2.35 (1.24)

0.77

0.80

7

Figuring out numeric medical examination values (e.g., HbA1c, fasting glucose)

2.57 (1.16)

0.78

0.79

8

Appraising information credibility

2.28 (1.15)

0.85

0.88

9

Distinguishing from advertisements

2.38 (1.18)

0.79

0.81

10

Judging a website to be sought

2.42 (1.15)

0.86

11

Trustworthiness of internet sources

2.09 (1.15)

0.80

0.83

12

Questioning and answering on a website

1.92 (1.22)

13

Presearching before seeing health professionals

1.93 (1.30)

14

Filtering applicable information

2.09 (1.56)

0.72

0.75

15

Emailing

2.50 (1.56)

0.76

0.75

16

Text messaging (e.g., KakaoTalk^d, WhatsApp^d)

3.19 (1.04)

0.85

0.89

17

Attaching a file to a text message

3.07 (1.17)

0.82

0.87

18

Credibility of social media information

2.28 (1.18)

19

Sharing opinions on social media (e.g., Instagram, YouTube)

2.10 (1.46)

0.77

0.73

Percentage of variance explained

70.00%

75.55%

Cronbach’s alpha

0.952

0.89

0.94

0.89

Omega (\(\omega\))

0.952

0.88

0.94

0.88