Digital capital and social alienation among undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates

This study examined the relationship between digital capital and social alienation, conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, among undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates. A cross-sectional survey design was employed using a convenience sample of 320 undergraduate students enrolled at a government-affiliated university in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Data were collected during the 2025-2026 academic year through a self-administered online questionnaire. The findings indicated high levels of digital capital and low levels of social alienation. At the dimensional level, meaninglessness emerged as the most prominent dimension of social alienation, followed by normlessness, powerlessness, and social isolation. Digital capital was significantly and negatively associated with overall social alienation and all of its dimensions, with the strongest association observed for normlessness, followed by social isolation, meaninglessness, and powerlessness. Multiple regression analysis further showed that digital capital remained significantly associated with social alienation after controlling for sex, age, and academic level (β = -0.61, p < 0.001), explaining 39.7% of the variance in social alienation. Significant differences in digital capital were found according to sex, favoring females, and academic level, with higher levels observed among senior students. No significant differences in digital capital were found across age groups, and no statistically significant differences in social alienation were observed across sex, age, or academic level. These findings suggest that digital capital may represent an important resource associated with lower levels of social alienation among university students within digitally mediated higher education environments. The findings further support the view that the potential contribution of digital capital extends beyond the acquisition of digital competencies and may be associated with broader processes of academic and social integration.