Influence Of Internet Use On Health And Medical Resource Use Of Middle-aged And Elderly People

Since the reform and opening up,China,as a populous country,has enjoyed the advantages of economic development brought about by the demographic dividend for a long time.However,the results of the seventh census show that the proportion of the elderly population over the age of 60 has reached 18.7%,which is already in a mildly aging population.In society,according to experts,during the fourteenth Five-Year Plan period,the number of elderly people will exceed 300 million,accounting for more than 20% of the total population,entering a moderately aging society.The health level of the elderly population is generally poor.However,under the background of the shortage of medical resources and the economic burden of "age before it gets rich",the aging of the population has caused a heavy pension and medical burden to the society.Faced with the medical,economic,and social challenges brought about by the deepening of aging,China is exploring measures to adapt to an aging society and continue to promote economic and social development from a diversified perspective.With the Internet penetration rate has increased,the middle-aged and the aged people learn to use the Internet for social interaction,emotional communication,information search,access to health services,etc.The Internet can improve the quality of life of middle-aged and elderly people and improve their health.Further investigating the impact of Internet use on the health of middle-aged and elderly people and its actual benefit will help explore new ways to improve the health of the elderly,allocate medical resources more rationally,and put forward beneficial countermeasures for the response of the aging society and the further development of the Internet.This paper uses the data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)in 2011,2013,2015 and 2018 to establish a time-region fixed effect model to explore the causal relationship between Internet use and health among middle-aged and elderly people in China.To measure the health status of middleaged and elderly people using self-rated health,depression status,and cognitive ability,and to analyze the heterogeneity and mediating mechanism of Internet use affecting health.Further studying the impact of Internet use on the use of medical resources in middle-aged and elderly people through health.The research results show that the Internet has good health benefits.First,Internet use can significantly improve the self-assessed health,reduce depression and improve cognitive ability of middle-aged and elderly groups.Among them,the impact of Internet use on health varies between urban and rural areas and at different ages.Internet use promotes the improvement of health by increasing the variety of social activities.Second,Internet use reduces the number of hospitalizations for middle-aged and elderly people by improving health.That is to say,a large part of the medical resource savings generated by Internet use comes from the improvement of health conditions.