Abstract: Objective: To examine the associations between recreational screen time and insomnia symptoms among college students, and to explore the mediating roles of internet gaming addiction and social network addiction. Methods: From October to November 2025, a multistage sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey among 2,853 first-year undergraduate students from six universities in Shanghai. Recreational screen time was assessed using self-reported daily duration of screen-based entertainment activities. Internet gaming addiction and social network addiction were measured using the internet gaming disorder scale and the social network addiction tendency scale, respectively. Insomnia symptoms were evaluated using the insomnia severity index. Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to analyze the associations between recreational screen time, addictive behaviors, and insomnia symptoms. The results of the structural equation model was further conducted to test the mediating roles of internet gaming addiction and social network addiction. Results: A total of 529 students reported insomnia symptoms. Recreational screen time (＜6 h/d: OR=0.715, 95% CI: 0.560-0.902; 6-8 h/d: OR=0.592, 95% CI: 0.463-0.755), internet gaming addiction (OR=1.197, 95% CI: 1.148-1.249), and social network addiction (OR=1.126, 95% CI: 1.106-1.146) were all associated with insomnia symptoms (all P＜0.001). After simultaneously including recreational screen time, internet gaming addiction, and social network addiction in the model, the association between some subgroups of recreational screen time and insomnia symptoms was not statistically significant (＜6 h/d: OR=1.110, 95% CI: 0.865-1.424, P=0.411). The results of the structural equation model indicated that recreational screen time was indirectly associated with insomnia symptoms through internet gaming addiction (β=0.020, 95% CI: 0.010-0.030, P＜0.001) and social network addiction (β=0.061, 95% CI: 0.040-0.083, P＜0.001). The standardized total indirect effect β was 0.081 (95% CI: 0.056-0.108, P＜0.001), whereas the direct effect of recreational screen time on insomnia symptoms was not statistically significant (P=0.928). Conclusion: The associations between recreational screen time and insomnia symptoms among college students are mainly mediated by addictive behaviors, with internet gaming addiction and social network addiction playing a key mediating role in this relationship.