The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale
A six-question self-report tool that helps people notice when their social media use may be becoming a problem. It is a screening aid, not a diagnosis.
What the scale is
The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, often called the BSMAS, is a six-question questionnaire developed by researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway and published in 2012. It asks how often a person has had certain experiences with social media over the past year. Each question maps to one component of addiction, so the scale looks at behavior and experience rather than simply counting hours online.
The six questions
Each question is answered on a five-point scale. The wording below is a plain-language summary of each item, not the validated text. Use the exact wording from the original publication for research or clinical use.
- Salience: How often have you thought about social media when you were not using it, or felt it taking over your thinking?
- Mood modification: How often have you used social media to escape problems or to change how you feel?
- Tolerance: How often have you felt you needed to spend more and more time on social media to feel satisfied?
- Withdrawal: How often have you felt restless, moody, or upset when you could not use social media?
- Conflict: How often has your social media use caused arguments, lost time with others, or problems with school or work?
- Relapse: How often have you tried to cut back, failed, and returned to heavy use?
How responses are scored
Each item is answered on a five-point scale:
- 1: Very rarely
- 2: Rarely
- 3: Sometimes
- 4: Often
- 5: Very often
Scores are added together, so higher totals reflect more frequent problematic experiences. Many researchers also use a simpler cutoff: a person who answers “often” or “very often” to at least four of the six items is generally counted as showing signs of problematic use.
A higher score suggests that social media may be affecting daily life in meaningful ways, and it is worth discussing with a professional. A lower score does not mean a family’s concerns are unfounded. Any worry about how social media is affecting a child deserves attention.
What a result can tell you
The BSMAS captures patterns that the person completing it reports about their own experiences. It is a useful way to start a conversation about how social media is affecting someone. Anxiety, poor sleep, or a drop in grades can have many contributing causes, and a qualified clinician can help sort through them.
Even so, the questions are useful. Many parents find that the six components give them language for changes they had already noticed, such as a child who becomes irritable when their phone is taken away, or one who keeps returning to an app after promising to cut back.
If the answers worry you
Whatever the score, your concerns are worth acting on. Start with a calm conversation and keep the focus on how your child is doing rather than on punishment. Write down specific changes you have seen, with dates where you can. If the changes involve sleep, school, self-harm, or withdrawal from friends, contact a pediatrician, school counselor, or mental health professional promptly. If you are in crisis or worried about immediate safety, call or text 988 in the United States.
If you believe a child or young person has been harmed by a social media platform, a legal evaluation can clarify your options. Families are not alone in this, and the law around social media harm is developing.
Talk with the Social Media Victims Law Center
SMVLC represents families whose children have been harmed by social media products. If you are worried about your child, or if you have questions about what happened, you are welcome to reach out. Our firm offers free social media addiction case evaluations, and you can share what you have observed without any obligation.
Our law firm exists to hold technology companies accountable for the harm their products have inflicted on children and teens. By prioritizing profit over safety, these companies have contributed to serious mental and physical health crises in children and teens, leaving families worldwide to bear the consequences. Through personal injury and product liability lawsuits, we pursue justice, accountability, and lasting reform.