Digital media technology in drama education: educational value and mental health empowerment from a symbolic interactionism perspective

Background: Digital media technology offers diverse educational methods, shaping interaction and communication within the educational process and further embodying profound value in promoting students' mental health. Drawing on symbolic interactionism, this study systematically analyzes the educational value and mental health empowerment pathways of digital media technology in drama education. It re-examines the role of digital media technology in drama education and clarifies the direction for leveraging such technology to develop drama education. Methods: The research employs an ethnographic methodology, conducting in-depth personal interviews with 30 drama education professors in China. Drawing on the four dimensions of symbolic interactionism-"subject, content, behavior, situation"-the study analyzes the primary educational value of digital media technology in university-level drama education and clarifies the internal logic connecting technology, interaction, and psychological development. Results: The study finds that digital media technology, represented by virtual reality, is being used with diminishing frequency, and the role of educators is shifting from "performance instructor" to "technology guide." Simultaneously, digital media technology transforms dry educational content into "vivid and immersive" virtual-real scenarios, providing teachers and students in drama education with "authentic" and immersive digital educational content, along with distinctive emotional experiences. Digital media-empowered drama education effectively enhances students' psychological resilience and social adaptability, offering a feasible pathway to achieve the dual objectives of "teaching quality enhancement" and "psychological empowerment" in education for the new era. Conclusion: The changes in content, action, and environment brought about by digital media technology in drama education reflect the requirements of the integrated development of art and technology, as well as new opportunities and challenges for drama education. Digital media technology builds a crucial bridge for the deep integration of symbolic interactionism with drama education and mental health. It also provides theoretical reference and practical insights for the digital transformation of drama education and the organic integration of mental health education.