Experiential Scenario-Based Role-Playing Game Design for Enhancing Digital Well-Being Literacy Among Higher Education Students

Aim/Purpose: Digital Well-Being Literacy is increasingly important in higher education, yet structured approaches that combine experiential, scenario-based, and role-playing learning remain limited. This study investigated the design and educational outcomes of an Experiential Scenario-Based Role-Playing Game (ES-RPG) framework addressing digital health, digital safety, digital literacy, and digital citizenship. Background: The framework integrates students’ identified learning needs with Experiential Learning Theory, Scenario-Based Learning, and role-playing activities. Authentic digital situations require learners to assume roles, make decisions, consider consequences, and reflect on their choices. Methodology: A three-phase design was used. Phase 1 identified Digital Well-Being Literacy needs among 598 undergraduates using the Priority Needs Index Modified. Phase 2 developed the ES-RPG framework and evaluated it with five experts. Phase 3 involved 70 undergraduates from two intact classes in a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group design (n = 35 per group). Digital Well-Being Literacy was assessed using a validated 30-item test, and learning engagement was measured across behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Contribution: The framework integrates needs assessment, experiential learning, scenario-based learning, and role-playing into a single instructional design. It translates identified learning priorities into authentic scenarios structured around role adoption, decision-making, and consequences, incorporating reflection throughout the experiential learning process. Findings: The highest-priority needs were mental and emotional well-being, healthy technology use, privacy management, digital stress awareness, and online responsibility. Expert evaluation indicated high suitability for both the framework (M = 4.56) and its learning activities (M = 4.52). After controlling for pretest scores, the experimental group had higher posttest Digital Well-Being Literacy than the control group, with a robust F(1, 67) = 13.93, p < .001, partial η² = .180, with an adjusted mean difference of 2.61 points (95% CI [1.21, 4.01]). The experimental group also reported higher learning engagement, with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.66 to 1.65. Recommendations for Practitioners: The ES-RPG framework provides a structured way to translate Digital Well-Being Literacy content into authentic activities involving decision-making, consequences, and reflection. Recommendation for Researchers: Further research should examine the contribution of individual framework components and replicate the intervention across multiple classes and institutional settings. Impact on Society: Digital Well-Being Literacy encompasses health, safety, critical use of digital information, and responsible participation in digital environments. Contextualized learning experiences may help higher education address these areas more systematically. Future Research: Longer interventions, delayed posttests, active comparison conditions, and behavioral measures of engagement are needed to examine the durability and generalizability of the findings.