Research On The Regional Digital Divide In China And Its Impact On Residents'Time Allocation

With the continuous development of information technology,the mobile Internet has subverted people's production and lifestyle.And a new kind of inequality-the difference in the use of mobile Internet between residents in ethnic and non-ethnic areas and its impact on time allocation has gradually attracted people's attention.This article uses the 2017 China Time Use Survey data.Firstly,through the Logit model,we studied whether there are differences in the use of mobile Internet between residents in ethnic areas and non-ethnic areas,as well as the factors that lead to differences in the use of residents in the two places.And the purpose of mobile Internet use is divided into three categories(mobile reading,mobile social and mobile entertainment)for comparative analysis.It was found that the mobile Internet usage rate in ethnic areas was lower than that in non-ethnic areas,with a difference of 4.61%.Factors such as urban and rural areas,education,distance to the city center,ethnicity,broadband access and income are important reasons for the differences in mobile Internet usage.However,by comparing the purpose of mobile Internet use between the two residents,the discovery of mobile Internet can narrow the regional digital divide.Secondly,through the Tobit model and PSM matching,the degree of crowding of other activities of the two residents using mobile Internet is studied.Mobile Internet occupies limited time for other activities of residents in ethnic areas,while it occupies more obvious time for residents in non-ethnic areas.It also occupies time for activities that affect the quality of life of residents,such as sleep,housework and care,physical exercise,etc.Therefore,there has been a trend of negative “digital dividend” of mobile Internet in non-ethnic areas.Suggestions for the above conclusions: First,speed up the education informatization of ethnic areas and improve the educational level of residents in ethnic areas;Secondly,increase the coverage of broadband in ethnic areas and reduce communication costs;Third,vigorously develop the rural economy and narrow the gap between urban and rural areas;Fourth,strengthen social guidance,encourage residents to use mobile phones reasonably,and avoid negatively “digital dividends”.