Development and Psychometric Assessment of the Social Media Motives Scale among University Students

• Main Authors: Amal Alhadabi*, Aryn C. Karpinski
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: RU Publications 2020-04-01
• Series: European Journal of Educational Research
• Subjects: social media; self-actualization; purposive; enjoyment; self-enhancement motives; convenience; scale development; and validation.
• Online Access: https://eu-jer.com/EU-JER_9_2_835.pdf

Social media (SM) use is a rapidly growing phenomenon among Millennials. Thus, a growing body of studies have explored the beneficial applications and negative consequences of their use in an increasingly virtual world. The current study aimed to develop and validate a scale that measures university students’ motives for using SM from a psychological and social perspective. In Study 1 (N = 316), the psychometric properties of SM motives were examined. The estimated factorial structure was validated in Study 2 (N = 200). The Study 1 results showed two active personal motives scales (i.e., self-actualization and purposive motives), one passive motive scale (i.e., enjoyment), one active contextual motive scale (i.e., self-enhancement), and a contextual (neither active nor passive) motive scale (i.e., a factor of convenience). Study 2 findings confirmed this factorial structure. Construct validity was supported with significant differences between three types of users (i.e., productive, consuming, and disinterested) on their motives (151 words).