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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1510418
This article is part of the Research Topic Integrated Strategies for Lifelong Health: Multidimensional Approaches to Aging and Lifestyle Interventions View all articles
Exploring the Impact of Internet Use on Cognitive Abilities in the Older Adults: Evidence from the CHARLS 2020 Database
Provisionally accepted- 1 Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications, Xi'an, China
- 2 Yan'an University, Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, China
- 3 Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
As the global population ages, the issue of cognitive impairments in the older adults increasingly highlights significant pressures on healthcare systems. This study, based on data from the 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2020), explores the relationship between internet use and cognitive abilities among older adults in China. Including a sample of 7,142 individuals aged 60 and above, the research employs correlation analysis and hierarchical regression to assess the impact of various aspects of internet use on cognitive performance. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between internet use and cognitive function, indicating that digital engagement could act as a protective factor against cognitive decline. Moreover, this study specifies how socio-demographic factors such as age, education level, and urban or rural residency modulate this relationship, discussing implications for enhancing digital inclusivity and cognitive health among the older adults.
Keywords: Cognition, Internet access, older adults, CHARLS 2020, cognitive dysfunction, sociodemographic factors
Received: 12 Oct 2024; Accepted: 07 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jiao, Guo, Sun, Wang and Yang. 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:
Jingqi Yang, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
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