Rethinking Emotional Intelligence in Digital Education: A Conceptual Perspective

The rapid growth of digital education has transformed emotional interaction within learning environments. As learning increasingly occurs through digitally mediated platforms, learners and educators face challenges related to reduced social cues, communication ambiguity, digital fatigue, and online isolation. However, traditional Emotional Intelligence (EI) theories were primarily developed in face-to-face contexts and may not adequately explain emotional processes in virtual learning environments. Therefore, this conceptual paper aims to rethink EI in digital education by proposing a conceptual perspective of Digital Emotional Intelligence (DEI). The study adopts a conceptual paper design using narrative literature review and theoretical synthesis. Literature published between 2020 and 2026 was examined to explore the relationship among emotional intelligence, digital competencies, and socio-emotional skills. The analysis highlights the limitations of traditional EI frameworks in digitally mediated interactions and identifies key DEI dimensions, including digital self-awareness, digital emotional regulation, digital empathy, ethical digital behavior, and digital relationship management. The proposed perspective integrates traditional EI, digital competencies, and socio-emotional skills into a unified framework for digital education. The paper contributes to the growing discourse on DEI by proposing an integrated conceptual perspective that synthesises emotional intelligence, digital competencies, and socio-emotional skills into a unified framework for understanding emotional functioning in digital learning environments. The proposed perspective offers practical implications for digital pedagogy, teacher preparation, educational policy, and future research.