互联网使用对老年人心理健康的影响研究——基于教育的调节作用分析

The Impact of Internet Use on Mental Health of the Elderly:Analysis on the Moderating Role of Education

互联网的快速发展为进一步实施积极应对人口老龄化的国家战略提供了重要的契机。基于2020年中国老年社会追踪调查(CLASS)数据,运用线性回归模型、倾向值得分匹配等方法,分析互联网使用及其行为特征对老年人心理健康的影响,并探讨教育在其中所发挥的作用。结果表明,使用互联网的老年人心理更健康,且使用频率越高、熟练程度越高、使用功能越多,其心理越健康。教育在其中发挥着重要的调节作用,具体言之,老年人的受教育程度越高,互联网使用对其心理健康的正向促进功能越强。从行为特征层面上看,教育在互联网使用熟练程度、信息获取功能中发挥着正向调节作用,在社交活动、休闲娱乐功能中发挥着负向调节作用,在使用频率、功能数量中则并未发挥任何明显的调节作用。对此,为进一步发挥互联网在老年群体中的积极作用,应营造出良好的老年数字网络接入环境,切实提升老年人的互联网使用率;应关注不同受教育程度老年群体间的差异,精准把握老年人差异化使用需求;应推动老年教育形式内容多元纵深发展,不断加强老年人互联网使用能力。

The rapid development of the Internet provides an important opportunity to further implement the national strategy of actively dealing with the aging population.Based on the data of 2020 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey(CLASS),the paper uses the propensity score matching and regression models to analyze the Impact of Internet use and behavioral characteristics on the mental health of the elderly,and explores the role of education in linking the internet use and mental health.The results show that the elderly who use the Internet have better mental health.The frequency of use,the proficiency level and the sorts of functions have a positive impact on mental health.Education also plays a mediating role.Specifically,internet use will have more positive promoting function on the elderly who are better educated.From the perspective of behavioral characteristics,education plays a positive moderating role in proficiency level and information acquisition function,education plays a negative moderating role in social activities function and entertainment function.Besides,education does not play any significant roles in frequency of use and number of functions.Therefore,in order to further play the Internet in the elderly group of positive role,first of all,we should create a favorable digital network access environment for the elderly,and effectively improve the use of the Internet among the elderly.Secondly,we should pay attention to the heterogeneity among the elderly with different education levels,and accurately grasp the differentiated use needs of the elderly.Finally,we should promote the diversified and in-depth development of the forms and contents of education for the elderly,and constantly strengthen the elderly’s ability to use the Internet.