Digital Resilience in Distance Learning among Early Childhood Students in the Play and Games Course at Universitas Terbuka

Digital transformation in distance learning requires students to have digital resilience as an adaptive ability to face technical, emotional, and social pressures that arise during online learning. This study aims to explore the structure and dynamics of digital resilience of Universitas Terbuka (UT) students, specifically in the Play and Games course that emphasizes collaborative and creative practices. Using a qualitative interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA), data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 students and analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Network Analysis assisted by MAXQDA 2024. The results revealed that students' digital resilience is formed as an adaptive system consisting of three main dimensions: Personal Resilience, Learning Engagement, and Digital Social Support that interact with two supporting and inhibiting factors (Adaptive Strategies and Obstacles & Fatigue). Students develop strategies for emotional regulation, digital efficacy, and perseverance to maintain learning motivation amidst network limitations, household burdens, and digital fatigue. Learning engagement acts as a conceptual bridge connecting personal resilience with digital social support through authentic reflection, team collaboration, and task clarity. Peer support, tutoring, and UT's digital infrastructure proved to be external buffers that stabilized the adaptation process and enhanced academic well-being. These findings confirm that digital resilience is not simply an individual's ability to cope, but rather a social-reflective system that fosters academic well-being and professional readiness. Practical implications: Distance learning design should emphasize the integration of digital reflection, adaptive social support, and self-regulation strategies as the foundation for resilient and sustainable learning in the post-digital era.