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Cited by 51

The effect of broadband Internet on the gender gap in mental health: Evidence from Germany

Golin, Marta·2022·Health Economics
DOI 10.1002/hec.4570
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Abstract

Mental health disorders are among the leading causes of disease burden worldwide. Recently, attention has been drawn to the Internet and social media as determinants of the increase in mental health conditions in recent years. In this paper, I analyze the causal effect of broadband Internet access on the mental health of adults. I leverage confidential information on the coordinates of respondents to the German Socio‐Economic Panel (GSOEP) and exploit technological features of the German telecommunication network to instrument for broadband Internet access. The results are suggestive that broadband Internet leads to worse mental health for women (primarily those aged 17–30) but not for men, thus widening the gender gap in mental disorders. Looking at sub‐facets of mental health, broadband access leads to a worsening of socializing behavior and ability to cope with emotional problems. The fact that the results are concentrated among the younger cohorts of women is suggestive that high Internet usage intensity amplifies the negative effect of broadband internet access on mental health.

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  • Golin (2022) finds that availability of broadband internet leads to a decrease in self-reported mental health for young women in Germany.

    “She exploits exogenous differences in the availability of broadband internet in Germany and fi nds that availability leads to a decrease in self-reported mental health for young women.”

    From Youth Mental Health and School Smartphone Bans: Early Evidence (2026) · cites this paper as Golin (2022)

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Authors
Golin, M.
Affiliations
Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development University of Zurich Zürich Switzerland
ORCID
Golin, Marta
Venue
Health Economics
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2022-07-13
Volume
31
Issue
S2
Pages
6-21
ISSN
  • 1057-9230
  • 1099-1050
DOI
10.1002/hec.4570
Cited by
51
References
19
Language
en
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Funders
Nuffield College, University of Oxford

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