{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Internet use may be associated with more active later life, but these associations may differ between rural and non-rural settings and between exercise and social interaction. We examined whether Internet-use frequency was associated with leisure-time physical exercise and offline interaction with friends and neighbors among older adults in China.\n\nMethods: This cross-sectional analysis included 2,284 adults aged 60 years or older from the in-person 2023 Chinese General Social Survey. Weighted regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and health covariates and province; standard errors were clustered by county/district code.\n\nResults: The adjusted overall associations of Internet-use frequency with exercise (B = 0.066; standardized β = 0.062) and offline social interaction (B = 0.115; standardized β = 0.094) were small. The Internet-use frequency × rural-residence interaction for exercise was negative [B = −0.170, 95% CI (−0.256, −0.084), p < 0.001]: the conditional association was positive among non-rural respondents (B = 0.168) and near zero among rural respondents (B = −0.002). The corresponding interaction for offline social interaction was not statistically significant (B = −0.050, p = 0.488).\n\nDiscussion: Associations between Internet-use frequency and measured offline activities varied by activity and residence. Cross-sectional, frequency-based measures do not establish causal pathways or explain the contextual difference. A weighted ordinal-logit sensitivity analysis retained the negative exercise interaction, although its evidence was weaker than in the linear model.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Normal Branch of Yanbian University, Yanji",
    "Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Seoul National University",
    "Seoul National University (SNU) BK21 Four: Training Program for Global Leaders in Sports Science, Seoul National University",
    "Department of Physical Education, Northeastern University, Shenyang"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhengyuan Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Doheung Lee"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Changliang Yan"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5425zrqx2x7qd.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpubh.2026.1978975",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13713351",
  "id": "5425zrqx2x7qd",
  "issns": [
    "2296-2565"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1978975/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3317|Technology Use by Older Adults"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221823548",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1978975/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13713351",
  "pmid": "42952666",
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5425zrqx2x7qd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpubh.2026.1978975",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1978975/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:41Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42952666",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952666"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:23:55Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13713351",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1978975"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:2296-2565",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Internet-use frequency, leisure-time exercise, and offline social interaction among older adults in China: rural–non-rural differences",
  "title_text": "Internet-use frequency, leisure-time exercise, and offline social interaction among older adults in China: rural–non-rural differences",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5425zrqx2x7qd",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Public Health",
  "versions": []
}