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Background and objectives Aging poses a significant challenge worldwide, with China’s aging status becoming particularly severe. What is the impact of Internet use on the health of the elderly? Existing studies have drawn conflicting conclusions that Internet use improves or harms health. The purpose of this study was to explore how Internet use affects the health of older adults, and the mechanisms and heterogeneity of these effects. Research design and methods Based on Grossman’s theory, this paper constructs a health production function model. Using the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2020, we investigated the impact of Internet use on the health of older adults using fixed effect model and instrumental variable method. We also examined the mediating role of health information acquisition, lifestyle, and social interaction in these associations. Results Internet use is positively associated with self-rated health and negatively associated with psychological sub-health level. Internet use promotes the health of older adults by facilitating access to health information, healthy lifestyles, and enhancing social interaction. And the impacts are heterogeneous at the individual and regional levels. Discussion and implications We should progressively enhance the level of internet accessibility for older adults, while concurrently addressing and narrowing the ‘digital divide’. By generating an abundance of superior health-related information, we can significantly improve health education tailored for the elderly. Additionally, it is crucial to offer extensive training opportunities designed to equip older adults with the necessary skills to proficiently navigate the internet.
Background and objectives Aging poses a significant challenge worldwide, with China’s aging status becoming particularly severe. What is the impact of Internet use on the health of the elderly? Existing studies have drawn conflicting conclusions that Internet use improves or harms health. The purpose of this study was to explore how Internet use affects the health of older adults, and the mechanisms and heterogeneity of these effects. Research design and methods Based on Grossman’s theory, this paper constructs a health production function model. Using the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2020, we investigated the impact of Internet use on the health of older adults using fixed effect model and instrumental variable method. We also examined the mediating role of health information acquisition, lifestyle, and social interaction in these associations. Results Internet use is positively associated with self-rated health and negatively associated with psychological sub-health level. Internet use promotes the health of older adults by facilitating access to health information, healthy lifestyles, and enhancing social interaction. And the impacts are heterogeneous at the individual and regional levels. Discussion and implications We should progressively enhance the level of internet accessibility for older adults, while concurrently addressing and narrowing the ‘digital divide’. By generating an abundance of superior health-related information, we can significantly improve health education tailored for the elderly. Additionally, it is crucial to offer extensive training opportunities designed to equip older adults with the necessary skills to proficiently navigate the internet.
Objective:The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of Internet use on the health status of Chinese women, and to analyze the chain mediating role of participation in cultural activities, physical exercise and social entertainment activities. Methods:Based on the data of China General Social Survey in 2021, a total of 4469 Chinese women were selected, and multiple linear regression model, structural equation model and Bootstrap mediating effect test method were used. Results: (1) Internet use has a positive impact on women 's health; (2) Participation in cultural activities plays an intermediary role in the impact of Internet use on women 's health status; (3) Participation in physical exercise plays an intermediary role in the impact of Internet use on women 's health status; (4) Participation in social entertainment activities plays an intermediary role in the impact of Internet use on women 's health status; (5) Participation in cultural activities, physical exercise and social entertainment activities play a chain mediating role in the impact of Internet use on women 's health status. Conclusion: Internet use has a positive impact on the health status of Chinese women, with an average increase of 0.153 points in health status, that is, higher frequency of Internet use has a more positive impact on women 's health status. In order to maintain women 's physical and mental health, women should reasonably arrange their online time, pay attention to the quality of information, cultivate healthy living habits, actively participate in offline social activities and improve their self-management ability. At the same time, relevant departments should also strengthen Internet supervision and governance to create a safe, healthy and positive network environment for women.
Objective Accounting for the convergence of digitalization and ageing, our study focused on middle-aged and elderly people in rural areas. Moreover, the potential mechanisms by which smartphone use affects the self-rated health and heterogeneity among different groups were explored, and the mediating effects of health-promoting behaviours were explored, with the aim of providing relevant insights and recommendations for improving the health of rural middle-aged and elderly people and actively promoting healthy ageing in rural areas. Methods On the basis of data from the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey, we established a multiple linear regression model to assess the direct effects of smartphone use (including whether to use, difficulty of use, and duration of use) on the self-rated health of rural middle-aged and elderly people and examined the heterogeneity among the various groups in terms of sex, age, and education level. In addition, the three-step regression and bootstrap test methods were used to analyse the mediating effect of health-promoting behaviours on the relationship between smartphone use and self-rated health. Results Smartphone use among rural middle-aged and elderly people significantly and positively affected their health-promoting behaviours and self-rated health, and the findings were robust. The positive effects of smartphone use on self-rated health were heterogeneous among rural middle-aged and older adults of different ages, sexes, and education levels. Health-promoting behaviours exerted significant mediating effects, accounting for 91.91%, 95.27% and 90.91% of the total effects, respectively. Conclusion Smartphone use among rural middle-aged and elderly people notably affected the improvement in their self-rated health, and this positive effect differed according to sex, age and education level. The indirect path of encouraging rural middle-aged and elderly people to use smartphones, reducing the difficulty of smartphone use, and prolonging the duration of smartphone use for enhancing health-promoting behaviours could effectively improve their self-rated health.
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