Digital Literacy as a Predictor of Academic Resilience: Exploring the Interplay between AI-Induced Cognitive Overload and Digital Fatigue in Hybrid Higher Education

Abstract

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) have found their place in the teaching and learning processes in the changing environment of hybrid higher education. Though these innovations make things more accessible and personalized, they also pose such challenges as AI-induced cognitive overload and digital fatigue, which can prevent students from being more resilient academically. This paper discussed the digital literacy as an important predictor of academic resilience, and the mediation role of cognitive overload and digital fatigue in university students and their study in hybrid learning contexts. A Cross-sectional research design was used, which utilized a sample of 120 undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18-30 years who were chosen by purposeful stratified random sampling. Data were gathered with the help of a structured questionnaire that included validated scales that measure digital literacy, academic resilience, cognitive overload, and digital fatigue. The statistical tests such as correlation, regression, and mediation analysis were performed to determine the relationships between variables. The results show that academic resilience is positively linked with higher levels of digital literacy. On the other hand, cognitive overload and digital fatigue brought by AI were observed to have adverse effects on student coping with academic problems. The mediation analysis demonstrated that cognitive overload and digital fatigue mediate the digital literacy digital resilience relationship in part and thus indicate that digitally literate students can lose resilience when challenged by heavy digital loads. The work demonstrates that it is extremely important to educate institutions to develop digital skills and, at the same time, to consider the psychological and cognitive load of the environment based on AI-driven learning. Digital workload interventions, which optimize technology use and promote healthy technology use, can lead to more resilient students and better overall academic outcomes in hybrid education systems.