The Arab digital generation’s engagement with technology: The case of high school students in the UAE

Abstract

This paper investigated the extent to which senior high school students who typified the profile of the Arab Digital Generation (ADG) engaged with technology while outside the school. Data was collected using a questionnaire that measured the extent of the students’ engagement with digital technologies and their perceived media literacy. The results showed that the students had a lower frequency of engagement with digital devices for advanced purposes. Moreover, the results on the ADG and their media use patterns reflect an age characterized the generational change of technological practices and the dynamic stream of technological innovation that has occurred during the digital revolution. Given technology’s established position in the lives of the ADG, knowledge on the extent of technology use and the potential social and psychological implications of plasticity can and should be harnessed to stimulate greater positive engagement of the students in a digital economy and by extension, the entirety of the UAE society.