Visual Media as a Factor in the Mental Health of Today’s Youth

Abstract

The peculiarities of the influence of visual media on the mental health of the individual are considered, in particular the relationship between the active use of retouched body images in the media and the increasing prevalence of eating disorders is noted. The effects of photo manipulations on the formation of body image in modern Ukrainian youth are analyzed. It has been established that the effect of the impact of visual media can form a negative body image of one's self, which further causes mental health disorders like low self-esteem and rejection of their appearance to serious mental illness. The ways of solving this problem are outlined specifically in the world of legal framework, which regulates the issues of body image formation in the modern visual media space. Among the most effective ways to prevent the negative impact of visual media on the psyche of the individual identified the education about the visual media culture of modern youth.