Development and Validation of an Ultra-Brief Scale to Measure Social Media Fatigue: The Social Media Fatigue Scale-3 Items (SMFS-3)

Objective: To develop and validate an ultra brief scale to measure social media fatigue, i.e., the Social Media Fatigue Scale-3 items (SMFS-3). Method: Construct validity of the SMFS-3 was assessed through corrected item–total correlations and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent validity was examined using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Reliability was evaluated through multiple indices, including Cronbach’s alpha, Cohen’s kappa, and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis was employed to determine the optimal cut-off point for the SMFS-3, using the BSMAS as external criterion. Results: Corrected item–total correlations and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the final version of the SMFS-3 includes three items in one factor. Concurrent validity of the SMFS-3 was excellent since we found statistically significant correlations between the SMFS-3 and the BSMAS, and the PHQ-4. Cronbach’s alpha for the SMFS-3 was 0.762. Cohen’s kappa for the three items ranged from 0.852 to 0.919 (p < 0.001 in all cases). Additionally, intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.986 (p < 0.001). Thus, the reliability of the SMFS-3 was excellent. The best cut-off point for the SMFS-3 was 10, indicating that social media users with SMFS-3 score ≥10 were considered as users with high levels of social media fatigue, and those with SMFS-3 score <10 as users with normal levels of fatigue. Conclusions: The SMFS-3 is a one-factor 3-item scale with great reliability and validity. The SMFS-3 is a short and easy-to-use tool that measures levels of social media fatigue in a couple of minutes. Valid measurement of social media fatigue with brief and valid tools is essential to further understand predictors and consequences of this fatigue.