University of Murcia

Digital Literacy Games: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review examines academic research on digital literacy games, a category of digital games designed to build skills such as media literacy, computational thinking, online safety, and awareness of misinformation.

• Young people are less digitally literate than commonly assumed: only about half of 10- to 12-year-olds and roughly a third of 13- to 18-year-olds reach expected proficiency levels.
• The systematic review analyzed 63 academic papers published between 2005 and 2021, selected from 1,746 initial records identified in Scopus; Web of Science added no eligible papers.
• The review argues that games are a promising route to building digital literacy because learning in early childhood occurs through play, both through game content and through the technology interactions games require.