Determinants of Subjective Poor Sleep Quality in Social Media Users Among Freshman College Students

Social media (SM) usage has increased markedly among young adults. It is linked to poor sleep quality (PSQ), a risk factor for mental and physical health concerns. This study identified the determinants of PSQ in SM users among freshman college students.

A cross-sectional design was used and 842 students completed a self-administered questionnaire. Analyses were performed using the χ ² test to examine differences in the characteristics of poor and good sleepers and logistic regression to estimate the risk of PSQ with reference to SM usage patterns.

Around 75.40% (n = 635) of the participants had PSQ. There was a significant difference in the PSQ rate between males (66.3%) and females (79.3%, p < 0.001), those who were physically active (67.2%) and those who were not (82.4%, p < 0.001), those who were mentally depressed (86.5%) and those who were not (61.5%, p < 0.001), and those with anxiety (87.8%) and those without (64.3%, p < 0.001). The risk of PSQ was lower among students who used SM for education (OR = 0.65, CI = 0.42 to 0.99, p = 0.048), had higher laptop usage (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.47 to 0.96, p = 0.03), and had higher SM usage during daytime (OR = 0.46, CI = 0.32 to 0.67, p < 0.001). The risk of PSQ was higher among those who reported SM usage at bedtime (OR = 1.69, CI = 1.01 to 2.81, p = 0.046).

Among SM users, PSQ was related to sociodemographic features, lifestyle characteristics, and health-risk factors. Further research is required to confirm these findings.