互联网使用与个体生育意愿——基于信息成本和家庭代际视角的分析

The Internet Usage and Individual Fertility Intention:Based on the Perspectives of Information Cost and Family Intergeneration

探究生育意愿的影响因素,助力人口转变升级成为当前研究的重要方向。文章置身中国具体情境,基于中国社会状况综合调查数据(CGSS2017),从信息成本视角和家庭代际视角两个维度考察互联网使用对个体生育意愿的影响。研究结果表明,使用互联网以及互联网使用频率越高的个体,其生育意愿越低。进一步研究发现,已育史对于互联网使用频率影响个体再育意愿存在负向调节效应,对于已育个体而言,上网频率越高对再育意愿的抑制作用越加显著;代际"数字鸿沟"对于互联网使用频率影响个体生育意愿也存在显著的负向调节效应。当子代和父辈存在较大的代际"数字鸿沟"时,对于互联网使用频繁的个体,父辈沿袭下来的传统育儿经验和子代通过网络获取的育儿知识相冲突可能会引致更多的家庭矛盾,进而抑制个体生育意愿。反之,当代际"数字鸿沟"较小时,互联网使用频率对个体生育意愿的抑制效应亦有所减弱。文章的发现对于提升个体生育意愿以及生育率的研究具有一定启示意义。

Fertility is the driving force of population development,while the problem of low fertility has become a new worldwide problem.In the specific context of China,economic and social development dimensions must be taken into account when analyzing the phenomenon of low fertility rate and discussing individual fertility strategies.With the progress of information and communication technology,the Internet is increasingly prominent in its impact on individual reproductive decision-making.We need to pay more attention to the impact of the Internet usage on individual fertility intention.In this context,the comprehensive survey data of Chinese General Social Survey(CGSS2017)is used to investigate the impact of the Internet usage on individual fertility intention.The results show that the higher the frequency of the Internet usage is,the lower the fertility intention of individuals will be.Further research finds that reproductive experience has a negative moderating effect on the impact of the Internet usage on individual fertility intention.For individuals who have already had children,the higher the frequency of the Internet usage is,the more significant the inhibition effect of fertility intention will be.The intergenerational"digital divide"also has a significant negative moderating effect on the impact of the Internet usage on individual fertility intention.When there is a large intergenerational"digital divide"between two generations,for individuals who use the Internet frequently,the conflict between the traditional parenting experience inherited by the parents and the parenting knowledge obtained by the children through the Internet may lead to more family conflicts,thus inhibiting the fertility intention of individuals.On the contrary,when the"digital divide"between generations is small,the inhibition effect of the Internet usage frequency on individual fertility intention also weakens.The main contributions of this paper are as follows:First,from the perspectives of information cost and family intergeneration,the Internet usage is introduced into the research framework of fertility intention to conduct empirical analysis,which expands the related research field.Second,the Internet usage and individual fertility are embedded in a specific context in China to clarify the moderating effect of intergenerational"digital divide"and reproductive experience on the impact of the Internet usage on individual fertility intention,and to provide useful empirical support for exploring solutions to the plight of low fertility.