The Impact of Internet Use on Children's Academic Performance in China

ABSTRACT The popularity and application of the Internet have a potential impact on children's academic performance. Based on the CFPS database in 2020 and 2022, this paper uses a pooled cross‐sectional regression model to analyse the impact of children's Internet use on their Chinese and mathematic scores. This study has found that excessive online time has a significantly negative impact on academic performance, and online learning is conducive to improving their scores. In addition, the impact of children's Internet use on academic performance is also differentiated in different ages and growth environments. Moreover, children's Internet use can influence academic performance by affecting their learning habits. Through further analysis, parents' Internet use behaviour has a heterogeneous impact on children's learning performance. This study aims to objectively evaluate children's Internet use behaviour, provide corresponding intervention strategies for parents and optimize children's academic performance with the help of the Internet.