Screen viewing patterns and their association with mental wellbeing and psychological distress: a cross-sectional study amongst university students

Dependency on screen viewing (SV) has reached unprecedented levels, and mental health issues are becoming a major public health concern. However, the associations between SV, including variations in purposes, devices, and timing, and mental health remain unclear. This study aims to provide insights into these associations among university students. This analysis used baseline data from a longitudinal cohort study among first-year university students matriculating in the 2021–2022 academic year. Self-reported data on sociodemographics, health behaviors and mental health outcomes alongside anthropometric measurements were collected. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyses were conducted. The average age of the 997 valid students was 20.2 years, with 59.6% being female and 41.4% male. Students spent 14.3 h daily on SV, with females reporting higher SV than males. Daily SV was predominant for study purposes (7.6 h/day). Computer usage was the highest (7.0 h/day), while TV usage was the lowest (1.7 h/day). Poor mental wellbeing was reported by 33.6% of students, while 13.9% experienced psychological distress. Compared to students with low total SV, those with high levels were more likely to have poor mental wellbeing OR (95% CI): 1.40 (0.99, 1.98) and psychological distress 1.56 (1.00, 2.44). High levels of recreational and study related SV were significantly associated with poor mental wellbeing 1.81 (1.27, 2.56) and psychological distress 1.75 (1.11, 2.83), respectively. Those with high levels of computer time were more likely to have poor mental wellbeing 1.44 (1.01, 2.06), and high weekend day SV was associated with greater odds of psychological distress 2.16 (1.17, 4.06). SV among university students was high, as was the high prevalence of poor mental wellbeing and psychological distress. Greater SV was associated with poor mental wellbeing and psychological distress. Differences according to purpose of SV were noted. Although recreational SV was associated with poor mental wellbeing, study related SV was associated with psychological distress. Variations across different devices and timing were also noted. This highlights the need for further longitudinal research to understand the impact of SV on mental health and to guide interventions for promoting mental health of university students globally.