Digital exclusion among middle-aged and older adults in China: age-period-cohort evidence from three national surveys, 2011-2022

TL;DR

This study analyzes how age, period, and cohort factors influence digital exclusion among middle-aged and older adults in China, revealing persistent disparities and identifying key demographic groups at higher risk from 2011 to 2022.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive age-period-cohort analysis of digital exclusion in China using three national surveys, highlighting persistent inequalities and the impact of demographic factors.

Findings

Digital exclusion increases with age, especially after midlife.

Period effects show a decline in exclusion over the 2010s and early 2020s.

Rural, western, and cognitively at-risk groups face higher exclusion levels.

Abstract

Amid China's ageing and digital shift, digital exclusion among older adults poses an urgent challenge. To unpack this phenomenon, this study disentangles age, period, and cohort effects on digital exclusion among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Using three nationally representative surveys (CHARLS 2011-2020, CFPS 2010-2022, and CGSS 2010-2021), we fitted hierarchical age-period-cohort (HAPC) models weighted by cross-sectional survey weights and stabilized inverse probability weights for item response. We further assessed heterogeneity by urban-rural residence, region, multimorbidity, and cognitive risk, and evaluated robustness with APC bounding analyses. Across datasets, digital exclusion increased with age and displayed mild non-linearity, with a small midlife easing followed by a sharper rise at older ages. Period effects declined over the 2010s and early 2020s, although the pace of improvement differed across survey windows. Cohort deviations were present but less consistent than age and period patterns, with an additional excess risk concentrated among cohorts born in the 1950s. Rural and western residents, as well as adults with multimorbidity or cognitive risk, remained consistently more excluded. Over the study period, the urban-rural divide showed no evidence of narrowing, whereas the cognitive-risk gap widened. These findings highlight digital inclusion as a vital pathway for older adults to remain integral participants in an evolving digital society.