The digital obesity scale: A scale development study

Abstract

With digital transformation introduced technologies to every aspect of human life. Consequently, misuse and excessive use of the internet have also been on the increase. Thus, everyone is a digital obesity candidate today. Therefore, certain strategies should be developed for the use of digital devices. The current study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement instrument to determine the digital obesity level. In the study, initially, a literature review was conducted on digital obesity and a 63-item draft scale was developed. The language, semantic and content validity of the scale items were determined based on expert opinion. The study data were collected from 320 volunteering participants, who were older than 18 and lived in different geographical regions in Turkey during the 2022 spring term. Statistical procedures such as exploratory factor analysis, item analysis, total item correlation, t-test, and Cronbach Alpha coefficient were conducted. The study findings demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences between all scale items. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the scale included 5 factors across 33 items. Furthermore, it was determined that the construct of the scale was reliable and the scale could measure the attitudes of individuals towards digital obesity based on the Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient (α) = 0.93.