Factors Associated With the Use of Digital Technology Among Youth in Zimbabwe: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Population-Based Survey

Globally, the increasing use of digital technologies such as mobile phones and the internet has allowed for the development of innovative mobile health interventions, particularly for reaching and engaging with youth. However, there is a risk that using such technologies may exclude those who lack access to them. In this study, we investigated the sociodemographic factors associated with mobile phone ownership, internet use, and social media use among youth in Zimbabwe. A population-based prevalence survey was conducted in 24 urban and periurban communities across 3 provinces of Zimbabwe (Harare, Mashonaland East, and Bulawayo). Youths aged 18 to 24 years resident in randomly selected households in the study communities completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The primary outcomes were mobile phone ownership and current internet and social media use. A household wealth indicator was developed using principal components analysis, based on household asset ownership. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the factors associated with each primary outcome. Age, sex, and province were considered a priori confounders. Household wealth, marital status, education level, employment status, time lived at current address, and HIV status were included in the final multivariable model if there was an age-, sex-, and province-adjusted association with a primary outcome on univariable analysis at a significance level of P