ArticleFrontiers in public health2024
Association between Internet use and depression among older adults in China: the chain-mediating role of volunteer activity participation and friend network.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
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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
- Urban-rural disparities in education's mediating role between digital engagement and depression among Chinese older adults.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The association between internet use and cognition in older adults: empirical analysis based on CLASS 2023.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Depression is a significant burden on individuals and society, which requires our attention and action. As the aging wave collides with digitalization, further research is needed to understand how internet use relates to depression in older adults. This study aimed to investigate whether volunteer activity participation and friend networks played a chain mediating role in this relationship from the perspective of the socioemotional selectivity theory. Method: This study's data was derived from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), comprising 5,558 samples. The study employed the OLS model for benchmark regression and multiple robust check methods, including altering variable settings and utilizing the instrumental variable model. In addition, the generalized structural equation model (GSEM) was used to analyze the mechanism. Result: Using the internet was significantly associated with reduced depression in older adults (coefficient = -0.9321, Conclusion: Based on the research findings, we suggest mobilizing tech-savvy older adults to assist others in adopting digital technology and using the internet. We also suggest that the government could assist in creating older adult-friendly communities. Social workers could collaborate with tech-savvy older adults to organize various voluntary activities, encouraging more senior citizens to participate. In addition, we recommend that the community should consider the form of activities to help older adults make friends first rather than solely focusing on voluntary activities.
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