Validation of the Motives to Use Social Networking Sites Scale (MOTUS)

Abstract

A lot of research has been conducted to explore the high amount of daily usage time on social networking sites (SNSs). We suggest a two-dimensional frame of reference for investigating the usage of SNSs, which incorporates both four motives for usage and mode of usage in terms of active/passive usage. A special feature of the item construction was to combine the motive facet and the active/passive facet as integral dimensions in the formulation of items. The advantage of this approach is the comprehensive assessment of SNS use with high content validity. Till now, such a measure, which is based on the two-dimensional frame of reference, does not exist. To fill the gap the aim of our study was to develop the Motives to use SNSs Scale (MOTUS) assessing: (1) active as well as passive use and (2) underlying motives by conducting two studies (N1 = 597, N2 = 437). Study 1 focused on item development, item reduction, and identification of factor structure. The analysis resulted in an eight-factor structure that represented active and passive domains of each motive. Study 2 confirmed this factor structure by showing good values for model fit. The results confirmed the construct validity of the MOTUS. Results are discussed with respect to applications and limitations of the new measure.