A functional approach to social media assessment: Initial psychometric evaluation of the Social Media Use Functional Assessment

Abstract

To establish a behavioral framework for understanding social media use, we assessed the validity of the Social Media Use Functional Assessment (SMUFA), a survey instrument assessing functional categories of use (i.e., attention, escape, sensory, and tangible). Participants included 357 university students. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and after reducing items, a three-factor model (attention, escape, and sensory and tangible) identified a good fit. We also examined associations between the SMUFA and two other established social media scales. Total SMUFA scores generally correlated with the Social Media Disorder Scale (r = .48) and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (r = .66) and had a weaker correlation with the Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (r = .31). Practical and conceptual issues related to assessing problematic social media use are discussed.