社会参与对老年人数字鸿沟的影响

The Influence of Social Participation on the Digital Divide of the Elderly

随着数字信息化的发展老年人数字鸿沟问题凸显。文章利用2018年中国健康与养老追踪调查(CHARLS)数据,实证分析了社会参与对老年人数字鸿沟的影响及其作用机制。研究发现,社会参与显著改善了老年人的数字行为,有助于弥合老年人的数字鸿沟,尤其对受教育程度较低、中高龄的老年人数字行为的改善、缩小老年群体内部的数字差距作用更大。社会适应能力和认知功能在社会参与对老年人的数字鸿沟的影响中具有中介作用。社会参与通过老年人社会适应能力的提升、认知功能的保护对老年人跨越数字鸿沟产生积极作用。建设对老年人友好的数字包容社会,需倡导老年人积极参与社会生活、经济生活、文化生活等活动,缩小数字差距,弥合老年人数字鸿沟。

With the development of digital technology,the problem of the digital divide among elderly is highlighted.Using data from the 2018 China Health and Aging Tracking Survey(CHARLS),the status of the digital divide of the elderly are revealed.And the impact of social participation on the digital divide among older adults and its mechanism of action are also empirically analyzed.It is found that social participation significantly improves the digital behavior of the elderly and helps them to bridge the digital divide among older people.Social participation has great effect on the improvement of the digital behavior of the elderly with low education or at the age of 80 and above.And the effect on the digital divide among the elderly is moderated by the social adaptation and cognitive functions of the elderly.Under the intermediary effect of the social adaptation and cognitive functions,the digital divide of the elderly will be reduced by social participation.In order to build an age-friendly and digitally inclusive society,it is necessary to advocate the active participation of older persons in social,economic and cultural life.