Digital transformation has reconfigured higher education by expanding access
to knowledge, communication, and collaborative learning, while also intensifying
stressors linked to information overload, social comparison, and digital fatigue. This
paper reconceptualizes digital wellbeing as an educational objective and examines
the role of teacher digital competency, critical thinking, and media and information
literacy (MIL) in promoting stress reduction among students. Teacher digital
competency is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that includes
pedagogical, ethical, and socio-emotional capacities necessary for creating
supportive digital learning environments. Teacher competency, critical thinking,
and MIL are interconnected educational constructs in digitally mediated learning
environments, this paper examines how education can be used to promote digital
wellbeing and reduce stress among learners. The central claim is that mental
wellbeing in higher education is not merely an individual coping issue; it is a
pedagogical and institutional responsibility shaped by the quality of digital teaching,
the structure of curricula, and the literacy practices encouraged in classrooms.
UNESCO’s MIL framework is especially relevant because it presents MIL as a
universal competency framework for educators and learners and links it to critical
engagement, safe navigation of digital environments, and responsible participation
in contemporary information ecosystems. The paper proposes an integrative
framework in which digitally competent teachers create emotionally supportive
learning spaces, critical thinking reduces cognitive overload and misinformation
stress, and MIL strengthens learners’ capacity for informed, ethical, and resilient
digital participation. The paper concludes that digital wellbeing should be
embedded across teacher education, curriculum design, and institutional policy so
that higher education can support stress reduction, emotional balance, and
responsible digital citizenship.
Digital Wellbeing; Teacher Competency; Critical Thinking; Media and Information Literacy; Stress Management; Digital Resilience