Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.

Based on Chinese General Social Survey data (CGSS 2021), binary logistic regression and stepwise regression were used to explore how Internet use improves the physical and mental health of elderly people and its influence mechanisms. The research found that Internet use has a positive and significan...

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Main Author: Peng Hou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312664
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author Peng Hou
author_facet Peng Hou
author_sort Peng Hou
collection DOAJ
description Based on Chinese General Social Survey data (CGSS 2021), binary logistic regression and stepwise regression were used to explore how Internet use improves the physical and mental health of elderly people and its influence mechanisms. The research found that Internet use has a positive and significant impact on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly, and the results are robust with variable replacement and model replacement tests. In its influence mechanism, it found that Internet use promotes the physical and mental health of elderly people through physical exercise, social interaction, and learning frequency, which have a partial mediating effect. The effectiveness of the Internet use in promoting physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly through learning frequency is higher than physical exercise and social interaction, highlighting the importance of continuous learning for the Chinese elderly in the digital age. At the same time, Internet use has an unequal influence on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly, and has a greater influence on the mental health of the elderly with higher socio-economic status. Therefore, the research proposes the following three suggestions. First, improve the popularity of Internet use among the Chinese elderly. Second, accelerate the development of Internet application products suitable for the Chinese elderly. Third, provide Internet education for different regions elderly groups, and implement targeted assistance for elderly people with poor socio-economic status.
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spelling doaj-art-9d006bfaf23e4c2d9f3f3b2e0ed697af2025-01-08T05:31:40ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031266410.1371/journal.pone.0312664Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.Peng HouBased on Chinese General Social Survey data (CGSS 2021), binary logistic regression and stepwise regression were used to explore how Internet use improves the physical and mental health of elderly people and its influence mechanisms. The research found that Internet use has a positive and significant impact on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly, and the results are robust with variable replacement and model replacement tests. In its influence mechanism, it found that Internet use promotes the physical and mental health of elderly people through physical exercise, social interaction, and learning frequency, which have a partial mediating effect. The effectiveness of the Internet use in promoting physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly through learning frequency is higher than physical exercise and social interaction, highlighting the importance of continuous learning for the Chinese elderly in the digital age. At the same time, Internet use has an unequal influence on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly, and has a greater influence on the mental health of the elderly with higher socio-economic status. Therefore, the research proposes the following three suggestions. First, improve the popularity of Internet use among the Chinese elderly. Second, accelerate the development of Internet application products suitable for the Chinese elderly. Third, provide Internet education for different regions elderly groups, and implement targeted assistance for elderly people with poor socio-economic status.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312664
spellingShingle Peng Hou
Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.
PLoS ONE
title Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.
title_full Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.
title_fullStr Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.
title_full_unstemmed Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.
title_short Influence mechanism of Internet use on the physical and mental health of the Chinese elderly-Based on Chinese General Social Survey.
title_sort influence mechanism of internet use on the physical and mental health of the chinese elderly based on chinese general social survey
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312664
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