Year

2018

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Arts in General Psychology (MAGP)

Department

Psychology

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Tracy Alloway

Second Advisor

Dr. Sarah Ainsworth

Department Chair

Dr. Lori Lange

College Dean

Dr. George Rainbolt

Abstract

When the topic of social media usage arises, the connotation is usually negative, with a focus on the negative impact both on the individual and on society (Greysen, Kind, & Chretien, 2010). In response to these perceived negative effects, some researchers have created a Social Media Disorder Scale (Van Den Eijnden, Lemmens, & Valkenburg, 2016) in order to address a diagnostic cutoff for social media disorder. However, relatively less research has been focused on measuring the potentially positive effects of social media on the individual and on society. In an effort to address this issue, the aim of the present research was to create a scale to evaluate social media behavior in reference to altruism, connectedness and maladaptive behaviors. Exploratory factor analyses revealed five factor subscales comprising our 21-item scale. Predictive validity analyses with the five factor subscales found age and gender differences in predicting Social Media Disorder.

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