<b>A COM PARATIVE STUDY OF SLEEP AND MENTAL HEALTH BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA GIG-WORKING AND NON-GIG-WORKING STUDENTS AT RONGO UNIVERSITY</b>

ABSTRACTSocial media use among university students is increasingly a source of income as well as leisure, yet research on screen time and student wellbeing has rarely distinguished paid, gig-based platform engagement from ordinary recreational use. This study examined the relationship between social media gig work, sleep patterns and mental health among fourth-year students at Rongo University, comparing students who earn income through social media or digital gig platforms with peers who do not. Using a cross-sectional, closed-ended questionnaire administered through the Rongo University Ajira Digital Club, data were collected from 31 respondents, 15 gig-working and 16 non-gig-working, falling short of the 30-per-group target originally set, covering sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), anxiety (GAD-7), depressive symptoms, perceived stress (PSS-10) and screen time and platform-engagement patterns. Findings showed that gig-working respondents slept on average just over an hour less per night than non-gig-working respondents (6.8 versus 7.97 hours), yet rated their sleep quality more positively and largely did not perceive their sleep as having changed since beginning gig work. Gig-working respondents also reported substantially higher anxiety and depressive symptom scores, though perceived stress was almost identical between the two groups, a finding treated cautiously given that the perceived stress scale showed poor internal consistency in this sample. These patterns were interpreted using Job Demands-Resources theory, the displacement hypothesis and Uses and Gratifications theory, and appear consistent with algorithmic pressure and income dependence as specific mechanisms linking gig work to reduced sleep and elevated anxiety. Given the achieved sample size, findings are presented descriptively rather than as statistically tested conclusions, and are offered as a preliminary contribution to a previously unexamined intersection of literatures within a Kenyan university setting. The study recommends proactive, gig-worker-specific mental health outreach at Rongo University and further research with a larger, more representative sample.