The Impact of energy poverty on the digital divide: The mediating effect of depression and Internet perception

The digital divide is connected to social inequality and is recognized as a significant concern in modern society. The relationship between the digital divide and poverty has been widely studied, but energy poverty—an important form of poverty—has been overlooked. Utilizing the China Family Panel Studies surveys for 2014, 2016 and 2018 and applying fixed-effects and mediating-effects models, this study explores the effects of energy poverty on Internet use and the associated transmission mechanism. The empirical results indicate that energy poverty has a negative effect on Internet use. A mechanism analysis shows that energy poverty increases people's feeling of depression and decreases perceived importance and usefulness of the Internet (Internet perception), which in turn decreases their Internet use, with both depression and Internet perception playing a partially mediating role. Moreover, a heterogeneity test reveals that the mediating effects differ between age groups. Specifically, Internet perception plays a fully mediating role for young people, whereas depression plays a fully mediating role for elderly people. Among middle-aged people, both Internet perception and depression partially mediate the relationships. This study not only explains the key role of energy poverty in the formation of the digital divide but also provides new evidence for developing targeted policies to bridge it.