Positive digital communication among youth: The development and validation of the digital flourishing scale for adolescents

Research has extensively studied the negative effects of digital communication on adolescents’ well-being. However, positive digital experiences and behavior in adolescence are still poorly understood. The recently developed Digital Flourishing Scale addresses this gap and focuses on the positive perceptions of a user’s experiences and behaviors in digital communication among adults. In this paper, we developed an adolescent version of this scale. Study 1 demonstrated the internal consistency of the scale and the same factor structure for adolescence as for adulthood: connectedness, civil participation, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, and self-control. Study 2 confirmed the identified factor structure with a second sample of adolescents and established measurement invariance across genders. The construct validity of the scale was confirmed by investigating associations with related constructs, including the basic psychological needs from self-determination theory (competence, autonomy, and relatedness), secure attachment to a close friend, Internet aggression, social media-induced inspiration, authenticity of posted positive content, and social media self-control failure. The results indicated that not all adolescents flourish equally online. Differences occurred depending on the adolescents’ gender and socioeconomic status. The paper concludes that the newly developed scale is a valid and reliable measure for assessing adolescents’ perceptions of digital thriving and digital empowerment.

When I communicate online, I am careful to adapt my comments and behaviors to be appropriate for whoever will read them (e.g., my friends, my teacher, my parents, younger children). When I talk to others online about something important to me, I know how to stand up for it in a polite manner. When I talk to others online about politics (e.g., about the government, the President, elections), I know how to do it politely. When something that others say or do online makes me feel angry, I am able to respond in a calm way.
The following statements are about comparing yourself to others on social media or other online applications. When assessing the statements think about the past four months.

Appendix E: Scales used to estimate construct validity in English (Study 2) A) DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
PART 1: Basic questions about you and your family.

What is your name and surname?
Note that this information together with your birthdate is stored separately from your answers in this survey to ensure your anonymity.

2.
In which year were you born? (dropdown 2000-2011) 3. I am a:  11. Think of someone you feel closest to above all others. This person should be close to your own age. They might be your best friend or someone from one of your classes, sports teams, or even just someone you hang around with sometimes. Indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements.

D) Authenticity of Posted Positive Content
The following questions are about what you post and what you see on social media.

Interactions with Positive Social Media Content Scales
12. The next questions are about posts and stories on social media platforms that you shared with many people in the past 4 months (think about for instance, followers on Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok, but not messages on WhatsApp). These posts and stories can be seen by relatively many people, typically you don't know all of these people equally well.
In the past 4 months, when you posted such posts or stories, how often were they messages on which you...