Prevalence and correlates of addictive-like tiktok use and perceived academic, sleep, and social outcomes among moroccan nursing and health-technology students : a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Short-form video platforms such as TikTok are increasingly embedded in students’ daily routines, raising concerns about dysregulated engagement and potential academic, sleep, and social consequences. Methods: This cross-sectional study used an anonymous online survey administered between March and May 2024 to undergraduate nursing and health-technology students at a public Moroccan institute (N = 524). Current TikTok use was assessed with a screening item. Among current users (n = 219), addictive-like TikTok use was measured using a TikTok-adapted version of Young’s Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire. Perceived outcomes included academic impact, sleep curtailment, and social withdrawal. Analyses used descriptive statistics, independent-samples t tests, and Pearson’s χ² tests (two-sided α = .05). Results: Overall, 41.8% of students (n = 219) reported current TikTok use. Among users, 24.7% (n = 54) met the predefined threshold for addictive-like use. Addictive-like use was significantly associated with perceived academic impact (p < .001), sleep curtailment (p < .001), and social withdrawal (p = .003). It did not differ by age (p = .999) or gender (p = .812), but was associated with scholarship status (p = .001), rural residence (p = .027), housing arrangement (p = .005), socioeconomic level (p < .001), study year (p = .023), and mother’s education (p = .005). Behaviourally, higher frequency of use (p = .009) and watching videos longer than intended (p < .001) were also associated with addictive-like use. Conclusion: In this sample, addictive-like TikTok engagement clustered with markers of impaired control, contextual vulnerability, and perceived functional costs. These findings support integrating digital self-regulation and sleep-protective strategies within nursing and health-technology training.