The article presents a theoretical analysis of informative and manipulative influence on the socio-political consciousness and behavior of modern youth. The interpretation of consciousness in the psychological and political areas has been revealed, which makes it possible to consider information technologies as an important attribute of influence on political consciousness. There has been conducted the analysis of the psychological components of informative and manipulative technologies, which defined as the dominance of the spiritual state of the individual, the imposition of thoughts, ideas, attitudes, values and management of behavior in favor of the subject of influence. There has been revealed the idea that the favorable socio-political conditions encourage the media to exert influence by manipulating the political consciousness and behavior of young people. The opinion has been clarified, that the use of communication technologies, that optimize the implementation of policy actors of their tasks and responsibilities through rational means, sequence of actions, development of an appropriate algorithm of behavior, result in the implementation of human activities to achieve socially significant goals, including political one. In the context of this issue, the role of the media in the political processes of society has been revealed, where they act as a means of manipulative influence aimed at transforming the political consciousness of young people. The factors influencing the political consciousness of young people have been analyzed, where the most influential are: granting the right to edit, adding their own conjectures; distortion of information; submission of false information; being reticent about major events; being ahead of the curve. However, the main reason for the effects of informative and manipulative influence lies in the personal scope, where it is important to have the ability to think critically, to analyze, interpret, defend the point of view, have strong energy and will, to have different forms of verbal influence of optimal mechanisms of thought and actions appropriate to the situation. Methods of effective counteraction to informative and manipulative influences have been determined. The main one is the ability to distribute information in the associative space, when one constructs the absence of intersection of the discussed events by associative connection with other unrelated events. Due to effective approaches, modern youth has the opportunity to stop being a "passive mass" and become active citizens who defend their opinions, make independent decisions and form their own patterns of behavior.

Psychological and pedagogical interaction in higher education is characterized by certain features, among which, the determining is the influence of the professor on the formation of students' personal maturity. Under the influence of internal (personal) and external (social) factors, meaningful personal formations arise, that characterize this phenomenon. The article explicates signs of personal maturity: at the individual level - adequate self-esteem, a high level of self-regulation, independence, and responsibility; within social interaction - the ability of the individual to be tolerant and empathic. The process of professor-student interaction in higher education institutions should be aimed at maintaining an enthusiastic attitude toward the future profession, and the development of relevant qualities and features necessary for the future specialist, which adds relevance to the study. An effective means of influencing the formation of students' personal maturity is psychological and pedagogical support for all participants of the educational process in higher education institutions, which corresponds to the natural concept of personality development in the dialectical unity of postmodern approaches to understanding the psyche. The result of such support lies in the preservation of moral, spiritual, and mental health, the promotion of emotional well-being of students, the development of natural potential, and the activation of internal resources that ensure the aspiration of a young person to self-development. The article outlines the peculiarities of the influence of university professors on the formation of students’ personal maturity. The latter is activated due to the professors’ readiness to create conditions for psychological and pedagogical support and effective organization of the education process. The prospects for further research lie in outlining methods for the development and formation of students' personal maturity within the process of professor-student interaction during distance learning and the subsequent testing of their effectiveness in the educational process.