The Influence of Internet Usage Frequency on Women's Fertility Intentions-The Mediating Effects of Gender Role Attitudes.

Pengcheng Liu,Cheng Ma,Xiaojie Wang,Yani Tian,Jingjing Cao,Wenjie Nie

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094784

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to verify the influence of internet usage frequency on women’s fertility intentions and to examine the mediating effects of gender role attitudes, under the influence of internet usage frequency that affects women’s fertility intentions, combined with the specific Chinese cultural context. A cross-sectional secondary data analysis was conducted using a sample of 3113 women of childbearing age in the Chinese General Social Survey in 2017 (CGSS2017). The results of the negative binomial regression model showed that, under the premise of controlling individual characteristic variables, the higher the frequency of internet usage, the lower the fertility intention (p < 0.01). The results of the mediating effect model show that the more frequently women use the internet, the lower their fertility intentions, and the less they agree with Chinese traditional gender roles, which are “men work outside to support the family while women stay at home to take care of the family”. These findings have implications in formulating public policies aimed at increasing the fertility rate; that is, it is not enough to increase women’s fertility intentions under China’s universal two-child policy. Moreover, public policy formulators need to consider gender role attitudes and the influence of the internet as a method for dissemination of information.

Highlights

The implementation of the Chinese universal two-child policy is seen as an important measure to ease the pressures of a reducing labor force and population aging [1]
The results show that the frequency of internet usage has a significant negative effect on women’s fertility intentions after controlling for other variables that might affect their fertility intentions
Our research combines the traditional Chinese cultural context, with particular emphasis on the mediating effects of gender role attitudes in the frequency of internet usage affecting women’s fertility intentions, confirming that the higher the frequency of internet usage, the weaker the consciousness of the traditional Chinese gender role attitudes, and the lower the fertility intentions

Summary

Introduction

The implementation of the Chinese universal two-child policy is seen as an important measure to ease the pressures of a reducing labor force and population aging [1]. The internet has become the most important means for people to communicate, profoundly affecting individual lifestyles and behavioral decisions [4,5,6,7,8], including women’s fertility intentions. These profound social and economic implications, as a result of the internet, have been underlined by social science scholars throughout the years [3]. Related empirical studies focused on the effects of the internet on marriage rates [9], teenage fertility [10], and the labor force participation of married women [11,12,13].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion