This 29-item scale measures the value people derive from using digital devices (phones, tablets, laptops) and digital platforms (social media, apps, the internet) over the previous three months. Grounded in the theory of consumption values, it covers four dimensions: functional value (information and knowledge), social value (connecting and communicating with others), positive emotional value, and negative emotional value. Tripathi, Jain, Pandey, Ford, and Gupta (2025) developed it through interviews, expert review, EFA, and CFA with U.S. samples, tested it in a time-lagged nomological study, and confirmed its structure and measurement invariance in the UK.
7-point Likert (1 = completely disagree, 7 = completely agree)
Functional value
Social value
Positive emotional value
Negative emotional value (reverse-score for an overall composite)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Directions for functional and social value: 'Please think of your usage and activities on digital devices (Mobile, Tablet, Laptops, etc.) and digital platforms (social media, apps, internet, etc.) in the past 3 months. Thinking about those, please indicate your agreement/disagreement with the following statements.' Directions for the emotion items: 'Thinking about my activities and usage on digital devices and digital platforms in the past 3 months, I feel...'. The four-factor model fit well in Study 4 (CFI = .95, RMSEA = .05) and beat alternative structures; AVEs were .51-.65 in Study 4 and .54-.66 in Study 6, with discriminant validity supported. In Study 5, digital overconsumption reduced DCV, and DCV predicted work engagement and perceived productivity. Negative emotional value correlates negatively with the other three dimensions (e.g., r = -.48 with positive emotional value in Study 4), so its items should be reverse-scored before forming an overall DCV composite; it can also be analyzed as a separate dimension. Epistemic and conditional values from the original consumption-values framework did not emerge as dimensions.
Tripathi, S., Jain, V., Pandey, J., Ford, J., & Gupta, D. G. (2025). Construction, validation, and generalization of digital consumption value scale. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 24, 3043-3061.
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