Internet Use and Subjective Well-Being in China

Abstract

Using data from the 2010 China Family Panel Studies, we analyze the association betweenInternet use and various measures of subjective well-being (SWB) in a sample of 16-to 60-year-old Chinese. Our analysis shows that although intensive Internet use is significantly associated with lower levels of SWB, we hardly observe any associations when the focus is on participation in specific online activities. Nevertheless, SWB depends on perceptions of Internet use; that is, the importance that different individuals ascribe to different purposes for using the Internet and how much they believe that their Internet use is displacing other activities. Our results suggest that, contrary to previous findings, differences in beneficial outcomes (the third level digital divide) do not necessarily arise from individuals' actual Internet use (the second level digital divide) but rather may result from their subjective perceptions of such usage. Our findings also point to a possible cultural factor that puts Chinese Internet users at psychological risk.

Internet Use in Young Adult Males: from the Perspective of Pursuing Well-Being

“…user are generally happier than intense internet user. These results are in accordance with previous reports on problematic internet use which found out that intensive Internet use is significantly associated with lower levels of SWB (Nie et al 2015;Vas and Gombor 2009). In generally, intense internet use is negatively associated with life satisfaction, and conjunct with higher levels of depression (Li et al 2014;Odacı and Çıkrıkçı 2014).…”

The Dynamics of Online Activities and Its Impact on Well-Being in Urban China

“…However, the key point is that the patterns of such associations appear to differ between urbanites and rural migrants. For example, while some recent findings suggest that online social networking is positively related to subjective wellbeing among Chinese citizens (Oh, Ozkaya, and LaRose, 2014;Stepanikova, Nie, and He, 2015;Nie, Sousa-Poza, and Nimrod, 2017); our finding indicates that this effect is considerably greater among rural migrants than urbanites. We find similar patterns in our analysis for depression: online entertainment is associated with lower levels of depression among urbanites but displays limited effects among rural migrants; the effects of online information acquisition, however, take the opposite form.…”

“…A new study based on the 2010 China Family Panel Survey finds that intensive Internet penetration is negatively associated with happiness and affective well-being and that individuals' subjective perceptions of different forms of online activities have a significant effect on their self-assessments of well-being (Nie, Sousa-Poza, and Nimrod, 2017). Similar observations can be found in clinical researches in China, which have contributed to the previous literature by focusing on the ways in which Internet adoption shapes subjective well-being among adolescents.…”

“…In this context, the online community tends to serve as an incubator that fosters and maintains social interactions for rural migrants in their host cities. Moreover, as online social interactions are likely to lower the physical and mental costs of social involvement, they may enhance rural migrants' sense of belonging and satisfy their psychological needs (Mobrand, 2006;Nie, Sousa-Poza, and Nimrod, 2017;Wei and Gao, 2017). The distinction between urbanites and rural migrants provides new findings about the ways in which the imprints of the hukou system shape patterns of online activities and about the impact of those activities on subjective well-being in urban China.…”

Impact of Internet use on economic well‐being of rural households: Evidence from China

“…This may also suggest that more interventions or policy programs are needed to boost the Internet service and telecommunication infrastructure, because there may be a significant return on investment in such infrastructure items of higher household income. Finally, as highlighted by Nie, Sousa‐Poza, and Nimrod (), many Chinese Internet users are rather novice and should, therefore, be regarded as “digital immigrants.” Thus, more interventions should be performed to facilitate Chinese users’ uptake and use of the Internet as an instrument for attaining valuable goals and performing significant roles, thereby positively affecting the economy and quality of life.…”