Digital Media Overuse Scale (dMOS)

Abstract

The Digital Media Overuse Scale (dMOS), developed by Hipp et al. (2023), is a modular and extendible questionnaire designed to assess problematic overuse of digital media while remaining adaptable to the rapidly changing technological landscape. The initial construction involved generating 81 questions intended to index behaviors and attitudes characteristic of behavioral addiction, covering domains such as tolerance, escape, and cessation difficulties.

The skeletal structure of the instrument included 14 indicators for each digital media domain. A specific focus was placed on smartphone use, indexed by three additional questions (resulting in 18 items for that specific domain), acknowledging the hardware’s unique physical presence. Validation studies were conducted on data sourced from 800 college-aged students, which successfully identified five primary domains of overuse. The development process included reporting robust results concerning internal consistency and preliminary external validity.

Keywords

Behavioral Addiction, Digital Media Overuse, External Validity, Gaming, Internet Video/Streaming Sites, Latent Class Analysis, Pornography, Problematic Behavior, Smartphone Usage, Social Media, Internet Addiction.

Authors

Hipp, D., Blakley, E. C., Hipp, N., Gerhardstein, P., Kennedy, B., Markle, T.

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Purpose

The dMOS was specifically created to provide a detailed index of problematic behaviors and attitudes associated with the consumption and use of digital media. Its modular structure ensures the instrument can remain relevant and easily updated as new digital platforms and technologies emerge.

This instrument is intended to support both empirical research and clinical application. For researchers, it offers a standardized measure for studying the psychological dynamics surrounding digital media overuse. For clinicians, it serves as a screening tool to help understand the severity and domain-specificity of problematic digital engagement among patients.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of problematic digital media overuse, which is conceptualized as a form of non-substance related or behavioral addiction. The items are designed to capture core addiction criteria as they manifest within digital contexts, such as using media as an escape mechanism, experiencing difficulties with cessation, and exhibiting tolerance (needing more time or intensity to achieve satisfaction).

The dMOS is unique in its ability to assess these addiction criteria across five distinct categories of digital engagement: digital gaming, social media, internet video/streaming, pornography use, and general smartphone use, thereby providing a multi-dimensional view of overuse.

Validity

External Validity: The external validity of the dMOS is currently supported by preliminary data, although further extensive clinical comparison is required for full establishment. Initial findings demonstrated that the responses obtained from a small sample of individuals seeking clinical services overlapped significantly with the most extreme latent class identified through Latent Class Analysis (LCA) within each tested domain.

This suggests that the scale is capable of discriminating between non-problematic and clinically relevant levels of digital media engagement, lending confidence to its utility in clinical settings.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The dMOS exhibits high levels of internal consistency. Across the pooled set of 80 individual indicator questions used in the initial sample, the instrument produced a robust Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.948, indicating strong inter-relatedness among the items.

Reliability scores calculated for the individual digital media domains also fell well within acceptable limits, confirming the stability of the subscales:

• Gaming: 0.916
• Pornography: 0.887
• Social media: 0.891
• Internet Videos/Streaming: 0.898
• Smartphone Use: 0.887

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Latent Class Analysis: Exploratory Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was utilized to determine the underlying structure of respondent profiles for each of the five domains assessed by the dMOS: digital gaming, pornography use, social media, video/streaming, and smartphone use.

The research hypothesis that LCA would reveal at least two classes of respondents (e.g., non-problematic users versus problematic users) for each domain was confirmed. The analyses consistently demonstrated that all five domains were efficiently and meaningfully described using a minimum of two and a maximum of three distinct classes, validating the scale’s ability to categorize different levels of digital media overuse severity.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Each question employs a 5-point response scale. Responses are structured as 0 (not at all), 1 (sometimes), 2 (often), 3 (always), and 4 (recoded as Not Applicable in R software).

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older)

Population Details:

• Location: United States
• Respondents: College Students; Patients Seeking Clinical Services

Test Methodology: Test Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency

Keywords

Internet; Internet Addiction; Pornography; Social Media; Latent Class Analysis; Nonsubstance Related Addictions; Nonsubstance Related Addiction Measures; Digital Media; Streaming Technology; Digital Gaming; Smartphone Use; External Validity.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Hipp, D.: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3847-2268

Affiliation Email addresses:

• Hipp, D.: Digital Media Treatment and Education Center
• Blakley, E. C.: Binghamton University Department of Psychology
• Hipp, N.: Collegiate Coaching Services
• Gerhardstein, P.: Binghamton University Department of Psychology
• Kennedy, B.: Digital Media Treatment and Education Center
• Markle, T.: Digital Media Treatment and Education Center
• Email (D. Hipp): [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Hipp, D.: Digital Media Treatment and Education Center, 2299 Pearl Street, #310, Boulder, Colorado, United States, 80302, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

References

Hipp, D., Blakley, E. C., Hipp, N., Gerhardstein, P., Kennedy, B., & Markle, T. (2023). The Digital Media Overuse Scale (dMOS): A modular and extendible questionnaire for indexing digital media overuse. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000117

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Items of the Digital Media Overuse Scale (dMOS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Number of items: There are a total of 18 items (referencing the finalized smartphone subscale, though the original inventory included 81 items across all domains).

Factors and Subscales:

• Overall smartphone usage
• Social media
• Gaming
• Pornography
• Internet video and streaming sites

Test Items Available: No data is Available