Technophobia and Technophilia among Undergraduates: Cross-national Research in Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt

Abstract

The rising growth of integrating technology into education affects the psychological structure of students, especially their technophobia and technophilia levels, playing a vital role in their adaptation to new technology, bridging the digital divide, and achieving sustainable development goals. Despite such influence, research lacks diagnostic theses among Arabian undergraduates. This study is the first to assess technophobia and technophilia levels according to countries among Jordanian, Egyptian, and Qatari undergraduates. The quantitative research approach and a cross-national research design, with a web-based questionnaire, are adopted to explore the technophobia and technophilia levels of Arabian undergraduates and investigate them concerning the country. Additionally, A stratified multistage clustered random sampling is recruited. The study sample comprised 1081 undergraduates; from Egypt (400), Jordan (375), and Qatar (301). The data were collected in September of the academic year 2021–2022 using the Technophobia and Technophilia Questionnaire. The results demonstrated a moderate level of technophilia among Arabian undergraduates. Moreover, according to country, the ANCOVA test confirmed a non-significant (p>.05) difference in technophilia levels. Notably, a significant (p<.05) difference exists in technophobia levels according to country. The results of the Scheffe test demonstrated that Qatari undergraduates were less technophobic than Jordanian and Egyptian undergraduates. This study’s implications can inform the government, especially policy-makers in education and sustainable development planners, to pay attention to undergraduates’ technophilia and technophobia concerns and plan strategies and policies for encouraging technology adaptation and managing technophobia and technophilia constructs.