Does Internet Use Boost the Sustainable Subjective Well-Being of Rural Residents? Evidence from Rural China

Abstract

The rapid development of the internet is affecting rural residents’ well-being profoundly in China. To empirically investigate the impacts of internet use on farmers’ subjective well-being, the latest version of the China Family Panel Studies data is utilized and multiple regression methods are employed. The results of the ordered logit model indicate that internet use positively affects farmers’ subjective well-being. Propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression are used to eliminate possible endogeneity and still reveal robust results. The frequencies of online study, online social interaction, and online entertainment are important channels influencing farmers’ subjective well-being. Furthermore, the impacts of internet use are heterogeneous. Internet users from the central and western regions have higher levels of subjective well-being than their counterparts from the eastern region. Young and middle-aged internet users are happier than the elderly ones. Therefore, the government ought to fully cover rural areas with the internet, eliminate the digital division, especially in Central and Western China, and pay more attention to internet use by the elderly.