Bridging the Digital Divide: Internet Use of Older People from the Perspective of Peer Effects

Shuo Shi, Lu Zhang () and Guohua Wang
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Shuo Shi: College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Lu Zhang: College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Guohua Wang: College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: The use of the Internet by older adults will contribute to the sustainable development of society. Existing studies have extensively investigated the influencing factors that affect older people’s use of the Internet, but ignored the behaviors of the people around them. Using data from China Family Panel Studies, we investigated the influence of peer effects on the Internet use of older people. It was found that, the stronger that peer effects are, the higher the level of Internet use among older adults. This conclusion still holds after a robustness test. The peer effects are more obvious in rural areas, due to closer community interaction. In addition, this study proves that peer effects promote Internet use by increasing the perceived importance of the Internet through mediation tests. The findings highlight the positive effects of social interaction on the Internet among older people, which is conducive to the improvement of policy practice.

Keywords: older people; Internet use; peer effects; social interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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