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Access to digital media and devices among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa: A multicountry, school‐based survey
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Access to digital media and devices among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa: A multicountry, school‐based survey
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Access to digital media and devices among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa: A multicountry, school‐based survey
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Journal Article
Access to digital media and devices among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa: A multicountry, school‐based survey
2025
Overview
Digital technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for health and nutrition interventions among adolescents. The use of digital media and devices among young adolescents across diverse settings in sub‐Saharan Africa is unclear. This cross‐sectional study aimed to assess the use of digital media and devices and the socioeconomic determinants of use among young adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania. The study included 4981 adolescents aged 10–15 from public schools selected by multistage sampling. Access to various digital media and devices was self‐reported by adolescents. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and access to digital media and devices. Approximately 40% of the adolescents in Burkina Faso and South Africa, 36% in Sudan, 13% in Ethiopia and 3% in Tanzania owned mobile phones. Compared with boys, girls had a lower ownership of mobile phones (odds ratio [OR] = 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68, 0.92; p = 0.002), computers (OR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.99; p = 0.04) and social media accounts (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.83; p < 0.001). Higher maternal education and greater household wealth were positively associated with access to digital media and devices. While digital media and devices are promising platforms for interventions in some settings due to relatively high levels of access, their utility in delivering health and nutrition interventions to adolescents in these contexts should be further examined. Key messages There is considerable variation in adolescents’ access to digital media and devices across settings in sub‐Saharan Africa. Access to someone else's phone is the most common channel of digital connection among sub‐Saharan African adolescents. Male sex, higher maternal education and higher household wealth are associated with greater access to digital media and devices among sub‐Saharan African adolescents. While digital media and devices are promising platforms for interventions in some settings due to relatively high levels of access, their utility in delivering health and nutrition interventions to adolescents in these contexts should be further examined.
