DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT EXPOSURE SCALE

Abstract

The current study aimed to develop and validate the Social Media Content Exposure Scale (SMCES) to measure multidimensional exposure to social media content. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was used. Phase 1 involved qualitative interviews and literature search to generate an initial pool of 48 items that were then narrowed down during the expert evaluation. The second phase involved collecting data from 300 social media users aged 18-50 years. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed two factors: Content Exposure Risk and Susceptibility and Cognitive Engagement and Content Regulation. Confirmatory factor analysis further supported the two-factor model, demonstrating strong model fit, χ²(43) = 49.802, χ²/df = 1.158, CFI = 0.973, SRMR = 0.055, RMSEA = 0.030, and PClose = 0.836. The CERS had an acceptable composite reliability (CR = 0.709), while the CECR had a marginal composite reliability (CR = 0.646). However, AVE values were lower than the recommended values, which means there was limited convergent validity. There was moderate latent correlation between the constructs (r = 0.523), indicating related but distinct dimensions. External construct validity was confirmed with a high correlation with social media engagement and a weaker correlation with online information processing. Overall, the SMCES offers initial support for factorial validity as a multi-dimensional measure of exposure to social media content.