An Analysis of Problematic Media Use and Technology Use Addiction Scales – What Are They Actually Assessing? - Responsible Design, Implementation and Use of Information and Communication Technology Access content directly
Conference Papers Year : 2020

An Analysis of Problematic Media Use and Technology Use Addiction Scales – What Are They Actually Assessing?

Adrian Abendroth
  • Function : Author
  • PersonId : 1163212
Douglas A. Parry
  • Function : Author
  • PersonId : 1163179
Daniel Roux
  • Function : Author
  • PersonId : 1163180

Abstract

Increasingly, research attention is being afforded to various forms of problematic media use. Despite ongoing conceptual, theoretical, and empirical debates, a large number of retrospective self-report scales have been produced to ostensibly measure various classes of such behaviour. These scales are typically based on a variety of theoretical and diagnostic frameworks. Given current conceptual ambiguities, building on previous studies, we evaluated the dimensional structure of 50 scales targeting the assessment of supposedly problematic behaviours in relation to four technologies: Internet, smartphones, video games, and social network sites. We find that two dimensions (‘compulsive use’ and ‘negative outcomes’) account for over 50% of all scale-items analysed. With a median of five dimensions, on average, scales have considered fewer dimensions than various proposed diagnostic criteria and models. No relationships were found between the number of items in a scale and the number of dimensions, or the technology category and the dimensional structure. The findings indicate, firstly, that a majority of scales place an inordinate emphasis on some dimensions over others and, secondly, that despite differences in the items presented, at a dimensional level, there exists a high degree of similarity between scales. These findings highlight shortcomings in existing scales and underscore the need to develop more sophisticated conceptions and empirical tools to understand possible problematic interactions with various digital technologies.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
497534_1_En_18_Chapter.pdf (395.65 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)

Dates and versions

hal-03774205 , version 1 (09-09-2022)

Licence

Attribution

Identifiers

Cite

Adrian Abendroth, Douglas A. Parry, Daniel Roux, Jana Gundlach. An Analysis of Problematic Media Use and Technology Use Addiction Scales – What Are They Actually Assessing?. 19th Conference on e-Business, e-Services and e-Society (I3E), Apr 2020, Skukuza, South Africa. pp.211-222, ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-45002-1_18⟩. ⟨hal-03774205⟩
58 View
17 Download

Altmetric

Share

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More