Short digital stress scale - psychometric properties and cross-cultural validation

Due to the massive, global, and seemingly unabated growth in mobile and social media use, across private and work lives, users likely experience perceived digital stress, which might undermine important behavioural outcomes. Hall et al. (2021) have established a digital stress scale (DSS), developed among U.S. adolescents and young adults; the current study offers a cross-cultural test of the scale and proposes a shortened version, by almost 60%. Social media use tends to blur work and nonwork spheres, and psychometric scales need to be cross-culturally valid, so the present study tests perceived digital stress among employees from three countries. The well-established validation procedures and samples from Germany, Italy, and Japan affirm the reliability, validity, and cross-national applicability of a 10-item short DSS. The extended application also reveals the impact of perceived digital stress on three sets of employee outcomes. In turn, this research offers implications for both IS research and practice.