The present investigation was carried out with the objective of characterizing the relationship between the patterns of use of digital social networks and the protective factors of mental health in students of the Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas. It took place during the months of May to November of the year 2022. It was framed in a quantitative approach, with a non-experimental ex post facto cross-sectional design and a correlational descriptive scope. The sample consisted of 356 students. For data collection instruments such as the questionnaire to evaluate protective factors of mental health in university students, the questionnaire on addiction to social networks and the survey to explore patterns of use of social networks, for the analysis of these the statistical package SPSS version 22.0 was used. It was learned that most of the students use social networks every day and among the preferred ones are: Instagram and Facebook, to consume content of different kinds, in addition to following influencers, depending on their tastes and preferences. When analyzing the differences between the results of the indicators of addiction to social networks, the protective factors of mental health, gender and the academic year they are studying, no significant differences were found between them, while in the careers differences were found with respect to indicators such as: use of social networks, self-esteem and self-efficacy, giving positive correlations between indicators of possible risk and the development of protective factors.