From "Accessing the Internet" to "Controlling the Internet": Research on the Formation Mechanism and Healthy Guidance Strategies of Media Addiction Among the Elderly

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the deep intersection of aging and digitalization, the number of netizens aged 50 and above in China exceeds 370 million, with 51% of them spending more than 4 hours online daily⁠. While the elderly group has become an important growth driver of the Internet, some have fallen into the predicament of media addiction, which negatively impacts their physical and mental health, family relationships, and social integration. Current research mainly focuses on adolescent internet addiction, lacking systematic exploration of media addiction among the elderly. Taking the elderly group as the research object, this study adopts interdisciplinary and mixed research methods to analyze the multi-dimensional formation mechanism of media addiction among the elderly. It constructs a "media dependence—social isolation—psychological compensation" formation mechanism model and an "individual-technology-society" dynamic interaction model, quantitatively analyzes the impact of various factors, and proposes healthy guidance strategies from the dimensions of algorithm optimization, intergenerational collaboration, community support, and policy innovation. The research aims to promote the transformation of the elderly from "passively accessing the Internet" to "actively controlling the Internet," providing theoretical support and practical paths for achieving "active aging" and building an age-inclusive digital society⁠.