关键词: 互联网使用； 数字融入； 数字鸿沟； 老年人； 再就业

Abstract: Against the backdrop of persistently low fertility rates, China has entered a sustained stage of population decline. The traditional demographic dividend is gradually diminishing, and the old-age dependency ratio is rising. Leveraging and developing older adults as human resources has become a key measure for implementing the strategy of actively responding to population ageing. The widespread adoption of the internet presents both new opportunities and challenges for developing these resources. Using data from the Survey on Digital Division and Inclusion of Older Adults in China, this study selects retired males aged 60 and above and retired females aged 55 and above as its research subjects. The study systematically examines the impact of internet use on their reemployment willingness and behavior and its underlying mechanisms.

The findings reveal that internet use significantly increases the reemployment willingness among retired older adults who have not returned to work. However, its effect on actual reemployment behavior is not statistically significant. This suggests that the role of internet in promoting reemployment among the older adults is primarily reflected at the level of willingness and has not effectively translated into actual labor force participation. Further cluster analysis based on the functions and duration of retired older adults' internet use identifies three distinct types of internet users, such as video entertainment pattern, social communication pattern, and deep-use pattern. The results show that the reliance on social communication and deep internet use significantly enhances reemployment willingness, whereas usage focused on video entertainment has no significant impact. Mechanism analysis indicates that access to online job information and the expansion of social networks partially mediate the impact of digital inclusion on retirees' reemployment willingness. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of internet use is more pronounced among retirees formerly employed outside the state sector, low-income retirees, and female retirees.

The contributions of this study are threefold. First, by distinguishing between reemployment willingness and behavior, it reveals the unique characteristic of “willingness enhancement but insufficient behavior conversion” regarding the influence of internet use on retirees' reemployment. Second, it demonstrates that the effect of the internet depends not merely on access, but crucially on the content and depth of digital use and the extent of digital inclusion. Internet uses oriented toward social communication, information accessibility, and learning applications are more conducive to enhancing retirees' perception of job opportunities and confidence in reemployment. Third, the study explores the mechanisms of reemployment promotion through two dimensions: obtaining online recruitment information and expanding social networks. It further identifies its differentiated effects across groups with varying resource endowments and employment constraints. The study suggests the need to shift the focus of older adults' human resource development from increasing internet access to improving the quality of digital inclusion. This includes establishing an age-friendly reemployment information service system and providing targeted support for older adults outside the state sector, those with low incomes, women, and those with low levels of digital inclusion, thereby facilitating the transition from reemployment willingness to actual labor participation.

Keywords: Internet Use, Digital Inclusion, Digital Divide, Older Adults, Reemployment