Digital Wellness in Higher Education: Gaps, Interventions, and Equity-Centred Future Directions

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_2How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Digital Wellness; Technostress; Higher Education; Burnout; Algorithmic Engagement; Equity

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technologies within the higher education system has shaped pedagogical practices, institutional functioning, and communication patterns. While technology has enabled flexibility, accessibility, and innovation, it has also introduced complex challenges for the well-being of students and faculty. This systematic review synthesized contemporary research on digital wellness, with a focus on technostress, burnout, algorithmic influences, and the effectiveness of intervention strategies within higher education. Guided by PRISMA principles, a total of seventy-eight peer-reviewed studies published between the years 2015 and 2025 were reviewed. Across the studies reviewed, persistent connectivity emerged as one of the most frequently reported contributors to technostress. Numerous studies also linked notification overload, expectations to be constantly responsive, and curated engagement that is algorithmically driven with poor sleep quality, increased stress levels, and symptoms of burnout among students and faculty.

Digital interventions, particularly mindfulness-based and app-supported approaches, were found to offer moderate short-term benefits but lacked long-term sustainability and inclusivity across diverse populations. The review further reveals critical gaps in present research, particularly the limited use of longitudinal designs, intersectional analysis, and insufficient scrutiny of algorithmic influences on digital engagement. To address the gaps identified in the literature, future research should adopt longitudinal approaches, incorporate user participation in intervention development, and explore ways of creating more equitable digital ecosystems within higher education settings.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Vijay Viegas
AU  - Joslyn Henriques
AU  - Teotone Vaz
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - Digital Wellness in Higher Education: Gaps, Interventions, and Equity-Centred Future Directions
BT  - Proceedings of the 18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 4
EP  - 21
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_2
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_2
ID  - Viegas2026
ER  -