Social Intelligence in the Context of Digital Transformation Among Female Students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of M'sila: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the level of digital social intelligence among female students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of M'sila, Algeria, and to examine whether this level varies according to two variables: academic specialization (Psychology vs. Media and Communication Sciences) and daily Internet usage hours. The study employed a descriptive-comparative design and was applied to a randomly selected sample of 80 second-year female students. Data were collected using a researcher-constructed scale comprising 35 items distributed across three dimensions: digital social awareness, digital relationship management, and digital empathy and emotional responsiveness, following thorough verification of the instrument's validity and reliability. To address the study questions, data were analyzed using SPSS through a one-sample t-test, an independent-samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA.

The findings yielded three principal results. First, participants demonstrated a high level of digital social intelligence, with an overall mean score of 80.94 that significantly exceeded the hypothetical mean of 70. Second, statistically significant differences were identified in favor of Psychology students (M = 83.20) over Media and Communication students (M = 78.03) at the 0.01 significance level, a finding attributed to the nature of specialized academic formation and the depth of training in interpersonal communication skills. Third, no significant differences were found based on daily Internet usage hours (F = 0.07, p = .93), suggesting that the quality, rather than the quantity, of digital engagement is the primary determinant of digital social intelligence.