Rationalism or Intuitionism: How Does Internet Use Affect the Perceptions of Social Fairness among Middle-Aged Groups in China?

Background: In the digital age, the Internet has profoundly affected our production and life, which in turn has affected our mental health. However, little research has been conducted on when and how Internet use (IU) affects social fairness perception (SFP). Methods: Using the data of Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2015, this paper identifies the causal effect of IU on Chinese middle-aged people’s SFP through Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression and the instrumental variable (IV) method, and uses the Sobel and Bootstrap Test for mediation analysis. Results: IU not only directly reduces Chinese people’s SFP by channeling their social emotions, but also indirectly decreases SFP through the inspiration of government trust. However, inconsistent with some previous studies, social comparison mainly has a partial masking effect on the causality between IU and SFP. Conclusions: The significant negative impact of IU on SFP is the result of the combination of rationalism and intuitionism.