Doomscrolling Scale (view article)
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements.
1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree
1. I feel an urge to seek bad news on social media, more and more often.
2. I lose track of time when I read bad news on social media.
3. I constantly refresh my newsfeeds to see if something bad happened
.
4. I stay up late at night trying to find more negative news.
5. Reading negative news on social media is more of a habit now
.
6. When I am online, I feel tense as if something bad is going to happen soon
7. I constantly feel panicked while scrolling on my device
.
8. I unconsciously check my newsfeeds for bad news.
9. Even if my newsfeed says I am all caught up, I just keep scrolling for negative news.
10. I find myself continuously browsing negative news.
11. I check social media in the morning to see what bad things have happened.
12. I feel like I am addicted to negative news.
13. My social media searches probably make my newsfeeds more negative
.
14. I am terrified by what I see on social media but I cannot look away
.
15. It’s difficult to stop reading negative news on social media.
Note. Items 1, 2, 10, and 12 may be used as a short-form scale.
Cite as: Sharma, B., Lee, S. S., & Johnson, B. K. (2022). The dark at the end of the tunnel: Doomscrolling on social media newsfeeds. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(1), article 4. https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000059
Boundary Expansion Scale (view article)
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements.
0 = not at all to 10 = very much.
When you read the story, did you experience…
- …Relationships between people that are different from relationships in your life?
- …What it might be like to relate others in ways different that you normally do yourself?
- …Getting to know people you would never otherwise know?
- …What it would be like to have skills and abilities that are different from your own?
- …What it would be like to have emotional and interpersonal skills that are different from your own?
- …Doing things the characters did, that you haven’t done before?
- …Being in a time or place other than where you are now?
- …Facing situations and challenges other than those in your own life?
- …What it was like to have someone else’s thoughts and feelings?
- …What it was like to be someone else (that is, one or more of the characters in the story)?
Note. Consists of dimensions of affiliation (items 1-3), agency (items 4-6), and autonomy (items 7-10) satisfaction.
Cite as: Johnson, B. K., Slater, M. D., Silver, N. A, & Ewoldsen, D. R. (2016). Entertainment and expanding boundaries of the self: Relief from the constraints of the everyday. Journal of Communication, 66, 386-408. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12228
Following Motives Scale (FMS) (view article)
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements.
1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree
I follow some people on social media…
- so I can make fun of them when talking to others.
- so I can laugh about the setbacks they suffer.
- so I can derive pleasure from the stupid things they say or do.
- so I can gossip about them with others.
- so I can enjoy myself when I learn they fail or make a fool of themselves.
- because there is something addictive about being annoyed by them.
- so I can talk about their lives with others.
- because they show me that there is always someone who is worse off than me.
- because, although I dislike them, I find them intriguing.
- because they demonstrate that I am better off by comparison.
- because I want to know what they are doing, despite the fact I actually don’t like them.
- because they make me feel superior.
- because I want to know whether I am better or worse off than them.
- because I enjoy competing with them.
- because I’m more confident about talking to them online.
- because it’s safer to relate to them in an online setting.
- because I know they will say nice things about me.
- because I get along with them better in an online setting.
- because I know they will care about what I post.
- because I know they will like my posts.
- so I can observe them without them knowing.
- because I like to compare their achievements with my own.
- because I don’t want to hurt their feelings.
- because I feel socially obliged to do so.
- because I like their sense of humor.
- because they are funny.
- because they share great jokes.
- because they always have something interesting to tell.
- because we have a lot in common.
- because I like them.
- because they provide useful information on shared interests or hobbies.
- because I met them socially and want to learn more about them.
- because I know them from the past and want to keep in touch.
- because we have similar backgrounds.
- because they are friends and I want to know everything that happens in their lives.
- because they are a great source for news.
- so I can get a peek into their lives.
- because their accomplishments help me set goals to improve myself.
- because they provide a standard I can aspire to.
- because their achievements provide a source of inspiration for me.
Notes. Consists of separate subscales of antisocial motives (items 1-14), insecurity motives (items 15-24), sociable motives (items 25-37), and inspirational motives (items 38-40). Each subscale should be used independently. The phrase “social media” in the question stem can be customized to focus on particular SNSs or other platforms.
Cite as: Ouwerkerk, J. W., & Johnson, B. K. (2016). Motives for online friending and following: The dark side of social network site connections. Social Media + Society, 2, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116664219.
Spoilers Scale (view article)
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements.
1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree
I know how the story is going to end.
The story’s ending is given away by the preview.
I don’t know how the story will end.*
The preview tells me what to expect in the story.
I will be surprised by what happens in the story.*
Note. Reversed items indicated by asterisks.
Cite as: Johnson, B. K., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2015). Spoiler alert: Consequences of narrative spoilers for dimensions of enjoyment, appreciation, and transportation. Communication Research, 42, 1068-1088. https://doi.org/0093650214564051
Narrative Processing Fluency Scale (view article)
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements.
1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree
The story was easy to follow.
I found it easy to understand the characters.
I understood what was going on.
It was easy to see why everything happened the way it did.
Cite as: Johnson, B. K., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2018). (Don’t) tell me how it ends: Spoilers, enjoyment, and involvement in television and film. Media Psychology, 21(4), 582-612. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2017.1338964