Couple-Level Usage of Social Media and Fertility Intentions for the Second or Third Child: Evidence from China

Shu Li , University of Southampton
Ann Berrington, University of Southampton
Jason Hilton, University of Southampton

In the context of declining fertility rates China implemented the universal two-child policy in 2016 and the three-child policy in 2021. This study focuses on couples with one or two children and examines the relationship between use of social media (short videos and WeChat Moments) and intention to have another child in the next two years. Use of social media is likely to promote public policies, disseminate information, reflect public opinion, build social support, and engage in online consumption, although it might also be for entertainment and communication. Using data from a dyadic sample of 1864 couples from the 2022 China Family Panel Studies, we see that most couples with one or two children do not plan to have a child in the next two years. Looking at within couple differences we find that men tend to have higher fertility intentions than women. Couples use short videos and WeChat Moments frequently. Regarding the use of short videos, women are slightly more likely to plan to have a child when both members of the couple use them frequently, whereas men’s fertility intentions are not correlated with that. In contrast, men’s fertility intentions are significantly higher when both members of the couple post on WeChat Moments frequently. Women also show a slight intention increase when both partners frequently use it. However, both men and women are more likely to plan to have a child when the couples use frequently WeChat Moments or short videos. The paper discusses possible explanations for these trends.

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 Presented in Session 105. Fertility and Digital Technologies