Wellbeing-focused media literacy interventions in secondary schools: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

INTRODUCTION: Media and digital technologies shape adolescent development across interconnected online and offline contexts, offering opportunities for learning and connection while also exposing young people to risks that can affect wellbeing. Wellbeing-focused media literacy interventions aim to support young people in understanding and managing how media and technology shape their experiences and wellbeing. Schools are well placed to deliver such interventions at scale through curricular integration. However, existing interventions vary widely in focus, design and evaluation quality making it difficult to determine what works and why. This review synthesises school-based wellbeing-focused media literacy interventions and evaluates their effectiveness across well-being outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A range of interdisciplinary databases (ACM Digital Library, British Education Index, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science) alongside targeted grey literature searches of internal evaluation reports and dissertations were searched on 20 January 2026. Eligible studies will include school-based interventions for adolescents aged 11-18. Abstracts and full texts will be screened in Covidence, and relevant data extracted using an adapted Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) framework. A three-level random effects meta-analysis will estimate pooled effects across psychological, social, physical and digital wellbeing domains. Narrative synthesis, informed by the adapted TIDieR framework, will explore intervention content, delivery and theoretical foundations to identify mechanisms of change and sources of heterogeneity. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required for this systematic review, as it will only include published data. The review findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD420251269724.