Analysis On The Spatiotemporal Characteristics And Influencing Factors Of The Digital Divide In Chinese Households

With the gradual popularization of the Internet and the continuous advancement of the digitalization process,the differences in the ownership and application of network information technology among different countries,regions,industries,families and individuals have created a digital divide,causing information gaps and further polarization between the rich and the poor.The digital divide reflects the differences in opportunities faced by various groups in the information age.It is a manifestation of the gap in the ability of individuals and groups to acquire knowledge and master innovative ideas in the network economy society to create wealth.If the unbalanced development of informatization is allowed,it will give birth to a new polarization pattern.Compared with the overall level difference of macro-regions,the phenomenon of micro-level information technology polarization can better reflect its essence.Therefore,systematically analyzing the status quo of the digital divide,quantifying the degree of the digital divide among households,examining its temporal and spatial evolution characteristics,and clarifying various influencing factors and their mechanisms,is of great significance to narrow and bridge the household digital divide and promote the balanced development of digitalization and intelligence.On the basis of combing the existing literature,this paper based on the2014-2018 China Family Tracking Survey(CFPS)data,select indicators from the Internet use level,measure the level of household informatization,calculate the regional digital divide index,and analyze their temporal evolution trends and spatial distribution characteristics from the scales of urban and rural,inter-provincial,and eight comprehensive economic zones.Then,explanatory variables are selected from three aspects of households,individuals,and regions,and the household digital divide index is used as the explained variable to construct balanced panel data.After testing,a fixed-effect model was selected for fitting,and the degree of influence of each factor on the household digital divide was analyzed,and then put forward targeted suggestions for alleviating the digital divide.The main conclusions include:(1)my country's Internet penetration rate has exceeded 70%,and the gap in the information access level has gradually disappeared,but the degree of polarization in the utilization rate of Internet applications is still high,and the gap in the use of information is large.(2)The overall level of the digital divide has shown a narrowing trend.The urban digital divide has dropped significantly,while the rural digital divide has declined slowly,and the gap between the two has widened year by year.(3)The level of household information usage continues to rise,showing the distribution characteristics of "high in the east and low in the west,high in the south and low in the north".Meanwhile,the regional digital divide has been reduced year by year,showing the distribution characteristics of "low in the east and high in the west,heavy in the north and light in the south".(4)The level of household information use at all levels is similar to the distribution of the regional digital divide.The higher the level of information use,the lower the degree of internal polarization in the region,and the faster the development of the region,the faster the digital divide will be bridged,but the gaps between regions are increasing.(5)Micro-factors and macro-factors work together on the household digital divide.Family,personal and regional factors all have an impact on the household digital divide.(6)The factors affecting the second-level digital divide are different from the first-level digital divide.The influence of gender,urbanization level and information infrastructure development level on the digital divide gradually disappears.The main work and innovations of this article are: In terms of research perspective,considering both the macro and micro levels,comparative analysis of the regional digital divide and the distribution characteristics of household information use levels,and exploring the degree to which the household digital divide is affected by macro and micro factors.In terms of index selection,according to the definition of secondary digital divide(technology use gap),variables related to family Internet use behavior were selected to measure the level of family information use.Explanatory variables were selected from three levels of family,individual and region,and the family digital divide index was taken as the explained variable to construct balanced panel data.In terms of research method,combined with econometric theory,the data is tested to determine whether there is omitted variable bias caused by unobservable individual differences or heterogeneity,so as to select the optimal panel data regression model.