Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1403255
This article is part of the Research Topic Analyses on Health Status and Care Needs among Older Adults View all 12 articles

Association between Internet use and depression among older adults in China: The chain-mediating role of volunteer activity participation and friend network

Provisionally accepted
Yujiang Liu Yujiang Liu Fang Li Fang Li Jian Sun Jian Sun *
  • Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Depression is a significant burden on individuals and society, which requires our attention and action. As the aging wave collides with digitalization, further research is needed to understand how internet use relates to depression in older adults. This study aimed to investigate whether volunteer activity participation and friend networks played a chain mediating role in this relationship from the perspective of the socioemotional selectivity theory. Method: This study's data was derived from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), comprising 5,558 samples. The study employed the OLS model for benchmark regression and multiple robust check methods, including altering variable settings and utilizing the instrumental variable model. In addition, the generalized structural equation model (GSEM) was used to analyze the mechanism. Result: Using the internet was significantly associated with reduced depression in older adults (coefficient = -0.9321, p < 0.001). The instrumental variable model confirmed this reduction (coefficient = -0.9200, p < 0.001). Moreover, we found that there were three indirect pathways of Internet use on depression among older adults: the mediating role of volunteer activity participation (all p-values < 0.001), the mediating role of friend network (all p-values < 0.001), and the chain mediating role of both factors (all p-values < 0.001).Based on the research findings, we suggest mobilizing tech-savvy older adults to assist others in adopting digital technology and using the internet. We also suggest that the government could assist in creating elderly-friendly communities. Social workers could collaborate with techsavvy older adults to organize various voluntary activities, encouraging more senior citizens to participate. In addition, we recommend that the community should consider the form of activities to help older adults make friends first rather than solely focusing on voluntary activities.

    Keywords: Internet use, Depression, Chinese older adults, Friend Network, volunteer activity participation

    Received: 19 Mar 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Li and Sun. 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: Jian Sun, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.