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Journal of Counseling and Psychology

Abstract

The advent of social media has had a tremendous effect on the realms of social interaction and entertainment, particularly in younger generations. As this sensation has continued to grow and intensify, increasing concern has been raised about the potential adverse effects of social media use, including the possibility of dependence and addiction-like symptoms. This study aimed to create a scale capable of measuring social media dependency based on an alternative and internet-specific theoretical model. Participants (n= 133, ages 18-25) answered questions about their social media usage and related variables, completing a 26-item scale, the MPIQ, and accompanying items. McDonald’s omega was used to calculate an overall reliability estimate (ω= .835), and individual factor reliability estimates (ω= .68–.77). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor model that performed well under confirmatory factor analysis (χ²= 44.44, p= .219, CFI= .983, TLI = .976, RMSEA = .036 (90% CI [0.000, .073]), SRMR = .053) and exhibited both convergent and discriminant validity. The results of our study suggest that social media dependency is multi-dimensional, and that maintenance mechanisms involve the interaction of related but distinct emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects. The success of the four-factor model supports that reliable and valid scales can be developed according to alternative theoretical models, promoting the expansion of behavioral addictions studies into new areas.

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