Media and Mental Health - Impact of News Coverage on Mental Health

Running Head: MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH
MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH
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MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH1
Introduction
This essay is going to discuss about the various ways in which news are covered and
the impact it has on the mental health of a number of individuals. This article will thus focus
on the manner in which the news that has been covered by the media leaves a deep impact on
the children. There is a precise manner in which the media will influence their readers,
listeners and viewers. Thus, the psychology of the media influence on the people must be
incorporated into the analysis for developing a proper structure that will help in identifying
the manner in which the news is covered (Arendt, Steindl & Vitouch, 2015). Certain
psychologists have a more sophisticated way of addressing the analysis of the manner in
which the media covers the news that involves the studying of the media texts rather than just
observing their impact on the readers. This essay will thus highlight the various ways in
which the news is covered and also its impact on the readers. This essay will also highlight
the various details that are needed for the proper coverage of news and will also suggest
certain ways in which the psychological impact of the media can be reduced on the readers
(Brochu et al., 2014; Arendt, Steindl & Vitouch, 2015).
Discussion
The influence of the mass media increases when there is decrease in the strength of
the other sources. These sources might be low on influence that results in the overpowering
of the mass media and that in turn overshadows these sources. The effects of the mass media
are somewhat unintentional due to the news and the entertainment program (Dubois & Blank,
2018). However, sometimes the media does it intentionally in order to gain monetary
benefits, achieve social good and also for the political purposes. In order to do this the media
contributes to mental illness or stigma through the exaggerated news items, comical images,
inaccurate news along with providing incorrect information on the mental illness. It affects

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the psychology of the people who spend a lot of time watching television or reading the news
as they assume the media view of mental illness (Hoffner et al., 2017).
People gain knowledge on the basis of the behavior as well as the social conventions
such as laws of conduct from the television. Television preaches various ways in which the
persons with psychiatric disorders can be treated and in fact reinforces the various social
conventions that focus on treating people with social disorders (Perloff, 2015). Thus, the
nature of the news is to distort the view of the people as individuals believe that the
probability of any event or incidence can occur with frequency in which the instances come
to mind. This is called availability heuristic and the media makes use of this policy in order to
create a deep impact on the minds of its viewers (Reeves, Yeykelis, & Cummings, 2016;
Arendt, Steindl & Vitouch, 2015).
The results of negative news is always negative and the viewers who watch news
daily can be miscalibrated by the amount of news that is shown on various news channels.
Along with this the emotional subject of the films and the other television programs can also
affect the psychological health of the individuals. The shows can do this by directly affecting
the mood which can then affect the various aspects of thinking and behavior (Riff et al.,
2019). For instance, if a television program generates negative mood experience then it can
influence the individual in the manner in which he or she thinks about the life incidences.
There are a number of reasons that has caused the increase in the negative sensationalism of
the news that includes the higher rating that affects the business of the various news channels.
Then after the continuous viewing of the news it might affect the mood of the individuals that
will affect their psychological well-being (Turcotte et al., 2015).
A number of research has been done that shows how the different entertainment
media programs influence the various perceptions and the demographics that is very central