Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD)

Background

The Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD) is a short 9-item self-report questionnaire used to measure problematic or addictive social media use primarily in adolescents. It was published by Regina J.J.M. van den Eijnden and colleagues in 2016 to address a critical gap in clinical research: the lack of an easy to administer, standardized, validated, and clinically grounded diagnostic tool to identify social media addiction. The scale was born out of necessity following the massive global surge in smartphone adoption around 2012. While older internet addiction scales measured generalized "desktop computer" internet use, smartphones completely changed adolescent behavior by offering non-stop, localized access to platforms like Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat. The focus of the SMD scale is therefore specifically on the maladaptive and disruptive consequences of social media and not just time spent online. Each of the nine questions addresses a different potential issue of social media addiction (e.g. 'Preoccupation' with Social Media, 'Withdrawal' from Social Media, or 'Deceptive Behavior' because of Social Media). Validation results show that the SMD has good internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha > 0.81), and that all nine questions measure one underlying latent factor ('social media addiction').

Task Procedure

Participants are asked to respond to 9 questions about their social media use over the last year with a yes or no answer. The nine questions address the following areas:

1. Preoccupation: Excessively thinking about getting back on Social Media
2. Tolerance: The need to spent more and more time on Social Media Platforms
3. Withdrawal: Feeling bad/distress when not being able to use Social Media
4. Persistence: Failure to let go of Social Media despite actively trying to
5. Displacement: Regularly neglecting other activities or responsibilities because of Social Media use
6. Problem: Regularly getting into arguments with others because of social media use
7. Deception: Regularly lying about the time spent on Social Media
8. Escape: Regularly using Social Media as an 'escape' from real life problems
9. Conflict: Serious conflicts with family because of social media use

Each social-media addiction-affirmative response gains a point. A score of 5 or higher on the SMD is seen as indicative of fulfilling a formal diagnosis of Social Media Disorder.

What it Measures

The Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD) is a standardized self-report assessment tool of social media addiction

Psychological domains

• Addiction: A chronic compulsive need to use a substance or perform a behavior, despite harmful consequences

Main Performance Metrics

• Total Score: Sum of all question scores (Range: 0-9); A score of 5 and higher is indicative of a Social Media Addiction

Psychiatric Conditions

The SMD is used for assessments with the following patient groups

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
• Schizophrenia
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD).

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Van den Eijnden, Regina J.J.M, Lemmens, Jeroen S, & Valkenburg, Patti M. (2016). The Social Media Disorder Scale. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 478-487.

Fung, Sai-fu. (2019). Cross-cultural validation of the Social Media Disorder scale. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 12, 683-690.

Aygar, H, Unsal, A, Arslantas, D, Isıktekin Atalay, B, Cam, C, Kılınc, A, . . . Durak Aras, B. (2019). Evaluation of Social Media Use Disorder in Medical Faculty Students. European Journal of Public Health, 29(Supplement_4), European journal of public health, 2019-11-01, Vol.29 (Supplement_4).

Ergun, Gul, & Alkan, Ali. (2020). The Social Media Disorder and Ostracism in Adolescents: (OSTRACA- SM Study). The Eurasian Journal of Medicine, 52(2), 139-144.