Digital Silence in Social Media Communication: Psychometric Evidence and Behavioral Correlates in a Turkish Adult Sample
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Digital silence describes a patterned tendency to follow, evaluate, and learn from social media content while minimizing visible reactions and public contributions. Building on research on lurking, privacy-driven self-regulation, fatigue/overload, and self-censorship, this study evaluates the measurement properties of a 16-item Digital Silence scale and examines its behavioral correlates in a Turkish adult sample. A cross-sectional online survey yielded analyzable data from 450 participants (mean age = 32.56 ± 9.89 years; 55.3% women). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, and exploratory factor analysis was guided by sampling adequacy indices and parallel analysis. Construct validity was tested via correlations with active and passive engagement indices, privacy concern, social media fatigue, and perceived overload. Digital silence showed excellent reliability (α = 0.923; ω = 0.933) and a parallel-analysis–supported two-factor structure, characterized by a dominant general factor with a smaller secondary dimension. Strong validity signals emerged: digital silence correlated positively with the passive engagement index (r = 0.610), privacy concern (r = 0.537), and social media fatigue (r = 0.515), and negatively with the active engagement index (r = −0.638). Descriptively, digital silence increased across stricter account visibility settings and higher daily social media time. Overall, digital silence appears psychometrically robust at the total-score level and behaviorally meaningful, capturing a distinct low-visibility communication orientation shaped by privacy boundaries and engagement strain.
Author: Bilge Çağlar Demir
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7134117312