Assessing the Impact of Internet Skills on Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Instrumental Variables Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The potential benefits of IT for the well-being of older adults have been widely anticipated. However, findings regarding the impact of internet use on depressive symptoms are inconsistent. As a result of IT's exponential growth, internet skills have supplanted internet access as the source of the digital divide.

Objective

This study evaluates the effect of internet skills on depressive symptoms through an instrumental variables (IV) approach.

Methods

Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study's wave 4 (2018) were used. This included 16,949 community residents aged 45 years and older. To overcome the endogeneity issue, we used an IV approach.

Results

Our results reveal the emergence of a second-level digital divide, the disparity in

SUBMITTER: Mu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11004627 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature