互联网使用影响老年人孤独感吗?——基于CHARLS数据的实证研究

Does Internet Use Affect the Loneliness of the Elderly:An Empirical Study Based on CHARLS Data

随着老龄化进程的加快,孤独感成为老年人越来越明显的情感问题。基于2018年中国健康与养老追踪调查(CHARLS)的调研数据,运用倾向得分匹配法进行实证检验,研究老年人使用互联网对孤独感的影响。研究结果显示,老年人使用互联网对其孤独感有明显的缓解作用,互联网使用可以成为改善老年人心理健康的重要因素,特别是减少老年人的心理孤独感。从激发老年人使用互联网的积极性、积极引导和支持代际良性互动、改善老年人使用互联网环境、增强互联网使用对老年人社会参与的支持四个方面提出对策建议,有助于积极应对老龄化的挑战。

With the acceleration of the aging process,loneliness has become an increasingly obvious emotional problem for the elderly.Based on the survey data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)in2018 and by using propensity score matching method,this study conducts an empirical test to explore the influence of the elderly use of the Internet on their loneliness.The results show that the elderly use of the Internet can significantly alleviate their loneliness,and therefore the Internet use can become an important factor to improve the mental health of the elderly,especially to reduce their psychological loneliness.Countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the following four aspects,i.e.,stimulating the enthusiasm of the elderly in using the Internet,actively guiding and supporting the positive interaction between generations,improving the Internet use environment for the elderly,and enhancing the promoting effect of the Internet use for the elderly social participation,which are conducive to actively dealing with the challenges of aging.