Objective: This study aims to examine how short video viewing behaviors influence women's mental health by influencing their health-related behaviors.
Methods: This study utilizes data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to analyze a sample of 8 413 women aged 16 to 60. Three dummy variables were created: non-viewers (n=3 274), non-daily viewers (n=1 581), and daily viewers (n=3 558). Employing a multiple linear regression model, it examines the nonlinear impact of short video usage on women's mental health.
Results: Moderate users (non-daily viewing group) exhibited significantly lower depression scores compared to those who never viewed short videos (β=-0.782), while high-frequency users (daily viewing group) showed significantly higher depression indices than non-daily users (β=0.714). Grouped regression tests revealed heterogeneous effects of short video usage on women's mental health. Incorporating the behavioral substitution hypothesis, the study introduced mechanism variables—exercise frequency, internet duration, and late bedtimes. Resultsindicate that moderate non-daily usage yields psychological benefits through increased exercise frequency (OR=1.603, 95%CI:1.391~1.849). Conversely, daily high-frequency usage triggers screen addiction, leading to sleep deprivation (OR=1.198, 95%CI:1.062~1.352), thereby escalating depression risk.
Conclusion: These empirical findings challenge the traditional assumption of unidimensional linear harm from digital use, highlighting the double-edged nature of short video impacts—their health effects depend not only on usage intensity but are more critically shaped by content quality and users' self-regulation capabilities.
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