Relationship and mechanisms between internet use and physical exercise among middle- and younger-aged groups
Hao Chen,
Tingpimei Zhang,
Yihao Li,
Weifeng Zhao and
Wei Xu
PLOS ONE, 2024, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-17
Abstract:
The “Internet Plus” era has established a closer connection between sports and individuals. This study used data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies and focused on the middle- and younger-aged population aged 15 to 59 years. Employing a negative binomial regression model, this study empirically analyzed the impact of Internet use on physical exercise and its internal mechanisms among this population. The findings revealed that (1) Internet use significantly promoted physical exercise in the middle- and younger-aged population, with the frequency of physical exercise increasing to 1.549 times the original value; (2) The positive effects of the internet on physical exercise outweighed the negative effects, with online learning and entertainment enhancing physical exercise and online socialization limiting it. Specifically, online learning and entertainment increased the frequency of physical exercise among the middle- and younger-aged population by 0.063 and 0.018, respectively. Online socialization reduced the frequency by 0.023; and (3) The influence of internet use on physical exercise varies; significantly, it positively affects the exercise frequency among individuals over 35 years old and shows a positive correlation with employment status, including both employed individuals and those out of the labor market. The positive role of Internet use in encouraging physical exercise participation among the middle- and young-aged groups should be valued and enhanced.
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305131 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 05131&type=printable (application/pdf)
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:plo:pone00:0305131
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305131
Access Statistics for this article
More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().