The Impact of Internet Use on the Social Networks of the Elderly in China—The Mediating Effect of Social Participation

Qunlin Zhang and Zhibin Li
Additional contact information
Qunlin Zhang: School of Management, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an 710048, China
Zhibin Li: School of Management, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an 710048, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: Introduction: Under the overlapping interaction of digitization and aging, the number of elderly Internet users has increased yearly. However, the impact of Internet use on the social networks of the elderly is still unclear. Methodology: In this study, we utilize the methods of ordinary least square regression (OLS), propensity score matching (PSM), instrumental variable (IV), and Bootstrap-mediated effect analysis methods using data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) to analyze the impact of Internet use on the social networks of the elderly and examine the mediating effect of social participation. Objectives: A total of 1363 validated respondents aged 60 or above were included to explore the relationship between Internet use, social networks, and social participation among the elderly in China. Results: The results show that Internet use positively and significantly impacts the social networks of the elderly. Compared to the elderly who do not use the Internet, the elderly who use the Internet have a larger social network size, more significant social network heterogeneity, and higher social network upper reachability. The mediated analysis shows that social participation plays a positive mediating role in the influence of Internet use on the social networks of the elderly. That is, Internet use will benefit the social network of the elderly by improving the level of their social participation. Besides, there also exists heterogeneity in the effect of Internet use on social networks among the elderly with different genders, ages, and places of residence. Conclusions: Internet use benefits the social network of the elderly, and social participation partially mediates the relationship between Internet use and the social network of the elderly. These findings have implications for formulating public policies aimed at active aging; it is necessary to bridge the “digital divide” and promote the digital integration of the elderly. Let more older adults benefit from Internet use, thus improving the social network and quality of life of the elderly.

Keywords: internet use; older adults; social networks; social participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9576/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9576/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9576-:d:879926

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().