Educational Heterogeneity in the Relationship Between Internet Use and Episodic Memory Among Older Adults.

This study investigates how educational attainment moderates the relationship between internet use and episodic memory among older adults in China, using longitudinal data from the 2018 and 2020 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Employing advanced statistical methods—including inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and marginal structural models (MSM) for sufficient cause interactions—the research addresses potential biases related to reverse causality and self-selection. Results reveal a significant positive association between internet use and delayed word recall in older women, particularly those with less than an elementary school education, supporting the cognitive enrichment hypothesis that mentally stimulating activities benefit individuals with lower cognitive reserve. Specific online activities such as posting on social media and online chatting were positively linked to episodic memory in older women, while reading news online was beneficial for older men; however, some activities like watching videos and chatting showed negative associations with memory in men. These findings highlight gender and educational heterogeneity in the cognitive effects of internet use among older Chinese adults and suggest targeted internet-based interventions may help mitigate cognitive aging in vulnerable subgroups.