ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1643510
This article is part of the Research TopicBiomechanics of Aging: Advances in Exercise and Intervention Strategies for Older Adult WellnessView all 6 articles
The Double-Edged Sword of Internet use in Aging China: Thresholds, Mediation and Digital Health Policy
Provisionally accepted
- School of Physical Education, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
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Background: Amid global aging and digital transformation, the dual effects of Internet use on healthits potential benefits and risksremain a subject of debate. This study investigates the threshold effects of Internet use, the mediating role of physical activity, and the implications for digital health policy in China, revealing a compensation-vulnerability paradox among disadvantaged groups.The data were drawn from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), a nationally representative sample comprising 7,308 adults aged ≥ 45. We conducted multivariable regression with robustness checks and bootstrap mediation analysis. Nonlinear sensitivity was tested via U-shaped relationship validation and threshold effect identification.Results: Moderate Internet use (below 4.8 hours/day) confers health benefits, but excessive use leads to adverse outcomes. Physical activity serves as a partial mediator in this relationship, exhibiting nonlinear mediation dynamics. Although the current average of 1.8 hours/day of use internet is well below the harmful threshold, structural digital exclusion creates a compensation-vulnerability paradox: older and less-educated groups derive greater marginal health benefits from moderate use but face higher risks of overuse due to limited digital literacy and physiological constraints.Conclusions: Internet use offers conditional health benefits for older adults, contingent on usage thresholds and mediated by physical activity. Policymakers must balance targeted digital inclusion with safeguards against overuse, particularly for vulnerable groups. These findings highlight the need for time-bound digital health interventions and literacy programs to address the paradox of technological compensation and vulnerability, informing digital health policy in aging societies.
Keywords: Aging in China, Internet use, Health, Double-edged sword, physical activity
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 01 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 李, 蔡 and 喻. 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: 建光 蔡, School of Physical Education, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
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