I scored a 3 out of 9 on the Social Media Disorder scale. I believe when answered accurately, these questions may provide a good framework for identifying unhealthy relationships with social media, however I believe it may take more than a simple questionnaire to explore this phenomenon more deeply and how it’s affecting said person, rather than diagnosing someone after 9 questions.

Social media and technology are embedded across cultures in different ways. The way different generations of individuals may be less or more responsive to technology innovations can be applied to different parts around the world. These questions may focus on westernized symptoms of social media disorder, which may appear differently in another setting. Because patterns of social media disorders can differ in different parts of the world, it’s important for these questionnaires to take on a multinational and culturally inclusive approach. 9 true or false questions is far too simplistic to account for all instances of disordered social media usage around the world.