Does the Internet Use Improve the Mental Health of Chinese Older Adults?

Lin Xie,Yuan-Yang Wu,Si-Qing Zhang,Wan-Li Zhou,Xue-Yu Lin,Shi-Ming Ti,Shuo Zhang,Hua-Lei Yang

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.673368

Abstract

Purpose: The Internet has become an important part of daily life. However, older adults in China remain digital refugees amid the rapid development of digital information technology. This study attempts to scientifically answer how Internet use affects the subjective welfare of older adults.Method: Using data from the 2014 and 2016 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), a combination of ordinary least squares, ordered logit regression models, and propensity score matching (PSM) models were used to analyze the effects of Internet use on the mental health of Chinese older adults.Results: Our findings suggest that Internet use affects the mental health of older adults and increases the incidence of their depressive symptoms. These findings are robust to changing the key indicators, research method, and sample. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the negative effects on mental health are more evident for specific groups of older adults, such as those who are women, younger and middle-aged, high-income, non-rural Hukou, less educated, and living with others.Conclusions: Cultivating the ability of older adults to use the Internet and maintain a rational attitude while doing so can prevent its negative impact on their life satisfaction. Moreover, it can improve their attitudes toward using the technology and reduce their anxiety.

Highlights

Since the 1990s, the Internet and other information technologies have rapidly developed in China
This paper examines the following questions: What kind of impact does Internet use have on older adults? Can it help them improve their mental health and cope with depression? Considering the variability in the demographics of older adults, are there differences in the impact of Internet use on their mental health? The answers to the above questions can better clarify the relationship between Internet use and depression among older adults
Our study examined the relationship between Internet use and mental health among older adults in China, based on data from the 2014 and 2016 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS)

Summary

Introduction

Since the 1990s, the Internet and other information technologies have rapidly developed in China. How to deal with this accelerating aging and the increasing number of the older population is the focus of discussions in academia and the government and a topic of concern in all sectors of society [3] In this context, mental health issues, such as loneliness and depression, are receiving increasing attention, but their relationship with Internet use is uncertain. Using data from the 2008 U.S Health and Retirement Study, Heo et al [12] found that Internet use reduced loneliness in older adults by enhancing their social support as a mediating variable, which in turn enhanced their life satisfaction and psychological well-being, with the help of structural equation modeling. A recent study by Haase et al [13] has suggested that older adults can mitigate the psychological effects of social isolation through virtual socialization during a new crown epidemic

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Discussion

Conclusion