Abstract: Based on the data of China Family Panel Studies, the findings of this study show that Internet use can significantly increase the probability of self-employment among flexible workers by 7.0%. According to both the full sample and the sub-samples of the self-employed and the employed, the“substitution effect”of the Internet wage premium is greater than the“income effect”; the use of Internet has significantly increased the labor supply time of the self-employed flexible workers, and the positive effect on the self-employed flexible workers is greater than that on the employed workers. The analysis of the mechanism shows that the Internet enables flexible workers to have a freer value orientation and life pursuit, which can increase the probability of self-employment. At the same time, the Internet further prolongs the labor supply time of this group by increasing the individual work preference and the income level. In addition, the use of the Internet to study, work and socializing has significant heterogeneity in the effect on the labor supply of flexible workers. Compared with the group of middle-aged and the elderly and the group of urban population, the use of Internet can significantly increase the self-employment probability and labor supply time of the youth and the rural population.

Key words: digital economy, Internet use, flexible workers, labor supply