Internet, unmet aspirations and the U-shape of life

Abstract: The relationship between age and well-being is U-shaped. One recent explanation for this empirical pattern is related to unmet aspirations theory, pointing out that optimism bias decreases life satisfaction at younger ages, whereas pessimism bias increases it at later stages of life. This paper investigates the effects of Internet use on subjective well-being over the life cycle. Our model investigates the proposition that Internet use affects aspirations, and that this effect is relatively stronger at younger and older ages. To investigate moderation effects of Internet use on the U-shape of life, we use the Eurobarometer annual surveys for the years 2010 to 2016, which provide rich information for around 150,000 individuals in all European countries. We focus on the EU Digital Agenda policy program, and exploit exogenous variation in broadband Internet take-up across European countries to identify the causal effects of Internet on life satisfaction for different age groups. The r

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet (peer reviewed) ; In: PLOS ONE ; 15 (2020) 6 ; 1-22

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Mannheim
• (who): SSOAR, GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften e.V.
• (when): 2020
• Creator: Castellacci, Fulvio ; Schwabe, Henrik

Further information

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233099
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022091414023119758413
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:35 AM CEST