Ma Junqi
School of Public Administration, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, China.
Digit Health. 2025 Jan 6;11:20552076241310041. doi: 10.1177/20552076241310041. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.
Depression among older adults is increasingly becoming a global public health issue. Along with the rapid development of digital information technology, the Internet has profoundly changed the lifestyle of older adults. However, few studies have focused on the mental health of rural middle-aged and older adult populations, and this study aims to explore the impact of Internet use on depressive symptoms among rural middle-aged and older adults.
Our study is based on 10,946 Chinese rural participants aged 45 and above in the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Depression is measured by a 10-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies (CES-D10), and multiple linear regression and the propensity score matching (PSM) method are used to examine the effect of Internet use on depression in Chinese rural middle-aged and older adults.
Internet use significantly reduced depression in rural middle-aged and older adults. The mechanism was that Internet use improved mental health by improving social interaction and enhancing social support. Furthermore, desk computer, laptop computer, and cellphone use were all significantly associated with lower depression scores compared to non-Internet users. And the more the content of Internet use, the significantly lower the level of depression in rural middle-aged and older adults. Heterogeneity analysis showed that Internet use reduced depression more pronounced in the groups of males, those in elementary and secondary education, low-medium income, and aged under 75.
The paper confirms that Internet use significantly reduces depression, with social interaction and social support playing a mediating role. The results of the study show that strengthening rural Internet infrastructure can promote healthy aging in rural areas.
老年人抑郁正日益成为一个全球公共卫生问题。随着数字信息技术的快速发展，互联网已深刻改变了老年人的生活方式。然而，很少有研究关注农村中老年人群体的心理健康，本研究旨在探讨互联网使用对农村中老年人群体抑郁症状的影响。
我们的研究基于2018年中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHARLS）中10946名年龄在45岁及以上的中国农村参与者。抑郁程度通过10项流行病学研究中心量表（CES-D10）进行测量，并采用多元线性回归和倾向得分匹配（PSM）方法来检验互联网使用对中国农村中老年人群体抑郁的影响。
互联网使用显著降低了农村中老年人群体的抑郁水平。其机制在于互联网使用通过改善社交互动和增强社会支持来提升心理健康。此外，与不使用互联网的人相比，使用台式电脑、笔记本电脑和手机都与较低的抑郁得分显著相关。而且，互联网使用的内容越多，农村中老年人群体的抑郁水平显著越低。异质性分析表明，互联网使用在男性、接受中小学教育者、中低收入者以及75岁以下人群中对抑郁的缓解作用更为明显。
本文证实互联网使用显著降低抑郁，社交互动和社会支持起到中介作用。研究结果表明，加强农村互联网基础设施建设能够促进农村地区的健康老龄化。
