Technology influences development in numerous ways, including through education and training. It is both a didactic tool and a defining feature of students’ personal growth and social experiences. The ability of students to develop personal digital capital (an extension of Bourdieu’s multi-dimensional concept of capital) is a major determinant of their educational and career success and, by extension, national economic development. This study examines the influence of socio-demographic factors – age, gender, degree type, income, and parental education – on the personal development of digital capital among university students. Applying a structural equation model with data from an Iran-based survey (n = 421), the study finds that disparities in digital capital are explained by gender, income, and other socio-demographic factors. The finding that digital access supersedes digital competence in explaining inequalities in digital capital highlights pathways for targeted policy intervention.

https://aisel.aisnet.org/itd/vol32/iss1/20/

Rasoulzadeh Aghdam, Samad; Muschert, Glenn; Ghasemzadeh, Behnam; Hartley, Kris. (2026). “The Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on Digital Capital in Higher Education.” Information Technology for Development, 32(2).