Effects of Digital Nature Interventions on Positive Psychological Outcomes: A Scoping Review

(1) Background: Digital nature, delivered through different media, has been proposed as a scalable substitute for physical nature exposure to support psychological well-being, especially in high-income countries. This scoping review aimed to map the evidence on digital nature interventions and positive psychological outcomes. (2) Methods: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, supplemented by AI search and citation tracking, for studies published between 2020 and 2025. The first search was conducted between 15 November 2025 and 25 December 2025 and revisited between 5 June 2026 and 10 June 2026. We included articles published in English in peer-reviewed journals with the full text available. (3) Results: Our search yielded 67 studies from diverse cultural settings in three categories: primary studies (N = 46), review articles (N = 19) and conceptual articles (N = 2). Digital nature was associated with reduced stress and anxiety, better mood, greater restorativeness, and stronger nature connectedness, across healthy individuals, older adults, and clinical populations; reviews supported these findings at a larger scale, though some flagged mixed results for specific outcomes and technologies. Two conceptual articles explained these patterns through biophilic design and digital placemaking. (4) Conclusion: Overall, digital nature appears to be a promising approach for promoting psychological well-being, particularly where access to natural environments is limited. However, the evidence is mixed, geographically concentrated in Europe, East Asia, and North America, and methodologically heterogeneous, with no studies from low-resource settings. Further research is needed in these underrepresented regions.