Association of Facebook Use With the Physical and Mental Health of Undergraduate Students in Jalalabad City, Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background/objectives Facebook is considered one of the most widely used social media platforms among young adults worldwide, including undergraduate students. Addiction to Facebook has effects on users' physical and mental health. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to investigate the association between the frequency of Facebook use and its impact on the physical and mental health of undergraduate students in Jalalabad City, Afghanistan. Methods A multi-institutional cross-sectional study was conducted on 489 students from public and private universities from May 2024 to December 2024. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to recruit study participants. Results A total of 489 participants were enrolled in this study. 406 (83%) were males and 83 (17%) were females. More than 371 (70%) of them use Facebook for up to two hours a day. Students who spent up to two hours on Facebook were more likely to experience various physical and mental health issues, such as become angry when Facebook use is interrupted (p = 0.001), experience eye pain (p = 0.022), continuing to use Facebook despite having an urge for urination (p = 0.001), feeling of loneliness (p = 0.008), insomnia (p = 0.038), getting irritated with family members when they say something while using Facebook (p = 0.001), and postponing meals (p = 0.001). Moreover, gender (p = 0.024) and faculty of the students (p = 0.002) had a significant relationship with the duration of Facebook use. Conclusions The study concluded that excessive Facebook use among students has negative effects on their physical and mental health. Moreover, individuals who use Facebook more frequently tend to be more addicted to it than others. Therefore, higher education institutions need to implement health promotions and interventions to support youth in the healthy use of Facebook, and screening for eye and musculoskeletal conditions is advised.