The impact of social media usage frequency on air travel behavior: an empirical analysis from China

This study examines how the frequency of social media usage influences the air travel behavior of Chinese residents by integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Media System Dependency (MSD) theory. Utilizing 2022 CFPS data, we have applied Logit regression, instrumental variable analysis, mediation analysis, marginal effect analysis, and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. Key findings include: (1) Frequent social media usage significantly increases the likelihood of air travel, especially among individuals with poorer health; (2) Online information dependency has a positive mediating effect, whereas mobile device dependency has a negative one; (3) The negative impact of income satisfaction arises from interactions within intra-group characteristics. This study contributes by elucidating behavioral mechanisms, identifying heterogeneous effects, and validating results through robust methodologies.