ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2023
The Contribution of the Internet to Promoting Mental Health for Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Survey in China.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between digital smart device use and depression among older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Internet Use, Subjective Age, and Mental Health Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China: Pressured Versus Voluntary Internet Use.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Migration status and internet use: gender differences in mental health among rural older adults in China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Observational
- 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
- Association between chronic diseases and depressive inclinations among rural middle-aged and older adults.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Digital back-feeding and the mental health of rural older adults: mediation of basic psychological need satisfaction.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The effect of internet use on the health of middle-aged and older adults: evidences from China general social survey.BMC public health · 2024Article
- How does Internet use impact the mental health of social assistance recipients in China? Examining the chain mediating role of social support and family resilience.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealth is an important topic for everyone and essential to high-quality economic and social development. Recently, some researchers have suggested that older adults' internet use may have a health effect.
objectiveThis study specifically aims to clarify the relationship between internet use and the mental health of older adults, for which other surveys present contradictory results.
methodsData were obtained from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey conducted in 2018. A total of 6648 participants were included. Mental health was assessed by the 12-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Ordinary least squares regression was adopted to explore the relationship between internet use (independent variable) and the mental health of older adults. Robustness analysis, sensitivity analysis, and heterogeneity analysis were conducted in detail to verify the empirical result. A mediating effect analysis was further conducted to discover the effect mechanism between the dependent and independent variables.
resultsIt was found that internet use and smartphone use can significantly improve the mental health of older adults (ordinary least squares, β=.075; P<.001). After endogenous and robustness tests were conducted, the aforementioned conclusion remained robust. In particular, participation in voluntary activities played a mediating role in the relationship between internet use and the mental health of older adults. In addition, younger subjective age enhanced the positive effect of internet use on the mental health of older adults.
conclusionsInternet users showed higher levels of mental health among Chinese older adults. To improve the mental health of older adults, the government should not only cultivate the ability to use the internet but also encourage greater participation in voluntary activities among older adults.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.