Background:

The motivation for using social networks helps to understand the online behaviors of the adult population and can be an important predictor of several variables, considering their common usage on a daily routine.

Objective:

This article aimed to seek evidence of validity and reliability of the Social Media Motivations Scale (SMM-S) in the Brazilian context and understand its relationship with personality and life satisfaction.

Method:

The research was carried out in two stages, each consisting of 600 adults who were users of online social networks. The study subjects were mostly women with higher education who came from all Brazilian regions and selected Instagram as their favorite online service.

Results:

The results demonstrated the validity and reliability of a Brazilian version of the SMM-S. The items were preserved and the structure was organized into four dimensions: Freedom in Social Networks, Routine in Social Networks, Identity in Social Networks, and Social Maintenance. Correlations with life satisfaction and personality revealed evidence of convergent validity.

Conclusion:

The instrument showed psychometric evidence of validity in the Brazilian context. The article discusses the motivations for social network usage in different settings.