Prevalence and Factors Associated with High Computer Use Time for Leisure and Social Media Access Among Brazilian University Students

Excessive leisure-time computer use among university students is associated with a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and chronic non-communicable diseases. The objective was to estimate the prevalence and sociodemographic factors, university affiliation, and physical activity practice associated with high leisure-time computer use and access to social networks among Brazilian university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1,250 university students (60.0% women). The outcome was high computer usage time for leisure and access to social networks (≥138 minutes/day during the week and ≥300 minutes/day on weekends). The independent variables were sex, age, marital status, self-reported skin color, length of university enrollment, study period, number of computers and laptops at home, and physical activity. The association was estimated via Prevalence Ratios. The prevalence of the outcome was 19.9%. University students aged 18 to 24 years showed higher prevalences of high screen time for leisure (PR: 1.68; 95%CI: 1.11-2.54). It is concluded that young university students are the group most susceptible to high screen time, in the context of computer use for leisure and access to social networks.