ArticleFrontiers in public health2022
The impact of mobile Internet use on mental distress among Chinese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mobile internet use, physical exercise and depression levels: mediating mechanism and empirical evidence.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Internet Usage, Social Participation, and Depression Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Adult Chinese Individuals Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- Did internet usage reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of middle-aged and older adults? A difference-in-differences study based on CFPS data.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
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1 author.
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Abstract
With the rapid development of digital technology, mobile Internet use is increasing in popularity in China. Previous studies have shown that mobile Internet use has a positive or negative effect on mental distress. Using CFPS2020 data, this paper finds that mobile Internet use significantly alleviates mental distress in Chinese adults. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that mobile Internet use can significantly alleviate mental distress among adults between the ages of 30 and 70, without a bachelor's degree or residing outside the province of Hubei. Furthermore, mobile Internet use significantly reduces mental distress through two mediators: trust and happiness. It also shows that watching short videos or learning online is associated with reduced mental distress, as opposed to online shopping, chatting, or playing games. However, the mental distress of new mobile Internet users in 2020 has not been alleviated. This paper enriches the relevant theoretical research and provides a practical reference for using the mobile Internet to ease mental distress during epidemics.
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