Audio-visual technology and its impact on mental wellbeing

Abstract

Audio-visual technology can have a significant impact on a person's metal wellbeing to the extent that research shows that it can cause structural brain changes. In this paper we explore some of the associations between this technology and mental wellbeing. Audio-visual technology can help in fulfilling the need of human beings for connectedness, but it can be doing this inadequately. It is saturating the brain with information, and can lead to misinformation, misinterpretation, misrepresentation of such information. The impact of the media platforms on the mental wellbeing of their audience relies on an interaction between the platform and the viewer. We explore how this impact can be influenced by the viewer's age or psychiatric conditions. We advocate that if the right balance of utilisation of television and social media platforms is found, they can be a positive and crucial part of society's lifestyle.