A study of the privacy paradox amongst young adults in the United Arab Emirates

The rapid digitalisation of society has significantly increased the collection and processing of personal data, raising concerns about individuals’ privacy. The privacy paradox, where individuals express privacy concerns yet continue to disclose personal information, has been widely studied in Western and Asian contexts, but remains underexplored in the Arab world. This study investigates privacy attitudes and behaviors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a region at the crossroads of traditional Islamic values and Western influences. Using survey data from 216 Emirati university students, we tested a model that incorporates five constructs: peer interaction and influence, desire for privacy, privacy concerns, perceived privacy risks, and desire for efficiency and convenience, which are drawn on Privacy Calculus Theory (PCT) and Antecedents–Privacy Concerns–Outcomes (APCO) framework. Our findings reveal contradictions in privacy behavior and highlight the selective and context-specific nature of privacy behaviours across technologies. These insights provide a nuanced understanding of privacy behaviors in a region undergoing significant regulatory and technological transitions, offering implications for policymakers and technology providers that seek to balance innovation with individuals’ privacy.