The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many if not all aspects of our lives, including the way we handle money. This paper takes mobile payments as an example to show how COVID-19 affected the United Arab Emirates. Many researchers rushed into writing their first impressions in response to the pandemic to produce early study results. This paper uses these early electronic articles and blogs as valuable data sources for a first-level analysis. It attempts to assess the impact of COVID-19 on mobile payment services in the post-pandemic world from the demand and supply perspective in the UAE. The previous literature has been reviewed to understand the scope of the services present in the UAE before the onset of the pandemic. Further, an online questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions was used to gather data from 125 vendors capable of receiving mobile payments. Regression analysis with two time periods has been included to develop a better perception of mobile payment services before and after the spread of the coronavirus. It was found that COVID-19 has created a suitable environment for mobile payments, with significant positive relationship in both periods. The reasons for using mobile payments during the pandemic were to apply social distancing and to avoid physical touch, a requirement in the COVID-19 period, resulting in a move towards creating a positive attitude towards a cashless society.

Purpose: Objective: This study aimed to identify the role of Al Ain University in developing social awareness among people and to identify the differences in the sample’s answers about that role. Study methodology: The descriptive survey method was used through the reality study and data analysis, and this method is considered appropriate for presenting the study. The study sample consisted of (450) male and female students who were selected through simple random sampling. A questionnaire on social awareness, consisting of (13) items. Means and standard deviations were extracted for the first question. The Mann Whitney test was used to determine the significance of the differences according to the gender variable, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the means of several independent societies according to the college variable. Results and Discussion: The results of the study showed that the role of the university in developing social awareness among its students was average. The results of the study also showed that there were no differences in the role of the university due to the variables of gender and college. Recommendations: In light of the study results, the researchers recommend the following: Educating students about social awareness skills by holding workshops and seminars, working on continuous evaluation of social awareness skills, Creating a course as a university requirement that contains social skills, concepts, and terminology.

The study aimed to demonstrate the impact of technology on social relations in Jordanian society, focusing on individuals who use modern technology, including the internet and social media, on a daily or almost daily basis. The descriptive-associative approach was adopted, where the research community was represented by Jordanian individuals of different age groups and genders throughout Jordan (North, Center, South). The sample of the study included 722 individuals; a special scale was developed to collect data on the impact of technology on social relations. The results of the study showed that the level of technological use was high among the respondents, while social relations were on average, and it also turned out that there was a noticeable impact of technology on social relations, with statistically significant differences in the level of impact based on demographic variables such as age and gender. The results have shown that the use of social media contributes to enhancing communication between individuals, but at the same time it may lead to some challenges in traditional relationships. The study recommends the need to promote the positive use of technology in Jordanian society, focusing on how to improve social relations through these means, in addition to the need to organize awareness programs to minimize possible negative effects.

This study aimed to look into the correlation between the use of Instagram and TikTok and mental clutter among students of Al Ain University. The descriptive-correlational design was used, and the data were gathered by questionnaire from 70 students. The results indicated that students used Instagram and TikTok moderately and that they perceived moderate influence on their concentration, academic focus and mental clarity. The research calls for university policies on digital wellness, awareness workshops, limiting the use of phones during studies and student support programs to mitigate the negative impact of overuse of social media on academic and psychological performance. The data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of two sections: the first deals with personal variables, and the second contains 15 items distributed over three main axes. The results showed that the degree of students’ use of social media programs was average, as students used these applications on a daily basis but moderately. The effect of excessive use of social media software on distraction was moderate, as students found it difficult to focus on their assignments due to excessive use of these applications. Regarding the suggestions to minimize negative impacts, students pointed out the importance of setting certain times to stay away from these applications while studying. The study concluded that students should be aware of the negative effects of excessive use of social media programs and provide strategies to reduce these effects. Quantitatively, the overall Instagram and TikTok use score was M = 2.21 (SD = 0.897), the perceived mental-clutter score was M = 2.28 (SD = 0.891), and the strategy score was M = 2.29 (SD = 0.831); the full questionnaire showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85). One-sample tests against the three-point scale midpoint of 2.00 showed that perceived mental clutter, t(69) = 2.63, p = 0.011, and support for self-regulation strategies, t(69) = 2.92, p = 0.005, were significantly above the midpoint, whereas the social-media-use mean was marginal, t(69) = 1.96, p = 0.054.