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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1458413
This article is part of the Research Topic Health Literacy and Digital Health Literacy among Older Adults: Public Health Interventions View all 13 articles
Relationship between Internet use and offline leisure activities among Chinese elderly people: A moderated mediation model
Provisionally accepted- 1 Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- 2 Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Background: The process of aging in Chinese society is accompanied by the concurrent development of the Internet. In recent years, the influence of Internet use on the activities of older adults has attracted growing interest and is now a significant focus of both public health and gerontological research. Nevertheless, there is a need for further empirical research in this area. Purpose: This study aimed to examine the mechanisms and interaction processes, as well as the relationship between Internet use and offline leisure activities among Chinese older adults. Theories of active aging and environmental gerontology guided the construction and assessment of the mediating role of self-perception of aging between Internet use and offline leisure activities. Additionally, the moderating role of community-based leisure places (CBLP) was examined. Methods: A moderated mediation model was constructed using the SPSS 27 PROCESS Macro. This study employs the most recent China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) 2020 cross-sectional data, and the valid sample comprises 8,180 Chinese elderly individuals aged 60 years or older. Results: (1) Internet use and offline leisure activities among older adults exhibited a significant positive correlation. (2) Self-perception of aging played a significant positive mediating role between Internet use and offline leisure activities. (3) CBLP significantly and positively moderated the relationship between Internet use and offline leisure activities.The Internet can be an effective tool for addressing the challenges of aging.Active Internet use may lead to more positive age perception and more active offline leisure activities, and efforts should be made to increase the digitization of the aging society. Positive self-perception of aging is an important psychological factor influencing the offline and online activities of older adults. It is imperative that the concept of active aging be vigorously promoted. Concurrently, community infrastructure serves as the foundation for the mutual promotion of online and offline activities. Attention should be given to the development of infrastructure for an agefriendly environment. These findings deepen the understanding of the consequences of interactions between online and offline activities, subjective mindsets, and objective environments for older adults.
Keywords: Internet use, offline leisure activities, environmental gerontology, Active aging, elderly in China
Received: 02 Jul 2024; Accepted: 19 Dec 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Xiang, Deng and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shuai Xiang, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
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