ON SOCIAL NETWORKS, DIGITAL MEDIA, AND MENTAL HEALTH.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: The paper attempts to investigate the impact of social networks and digital media on mental health and psychological well-being. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: The data collection was carried out using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar databases. Research papers were identified according to the search terms "cyberspace", "cyberpsychology", "digital media", "virtual reality", "social networks", "mental health", "psychological well-being", "beauty", "beauty standards". The authors used integrative anthropological approach, interpretive research paradigm, and multidisciplinary analysis. CONCLUSION: Conclusion: The digital world is a relatively recent phenomenon, therefore, the potential relationship between its use and mental health and psychological well-being has not yet been adequately explored. Most of the research has been conducted over the last decades; and until now the scientific community has not been able to fully interpret the obtained results and come to final conclusions. As Timpano and Beard rightly pointed out, the future research should be focused on types and motivations for the use of social networks; identify potential mechanisms linking the social media use and mental health symptoms; reveal an impact of social networks on declines in face-to-face social interactions; understand the link of social networks with maladaptive coping strategies and health behaviors. The relationship between social networks, digital media use and psychological functioning is not straightforward and depends on many factors. However, we should not forget that there is nothing new under the sun. The same people act in both digital and physical spaces. And the psychological problems that are revealed in the digital universe are the same that "accompany" the actors of the digital communication process in the real, physical world. Anyway, we cannot avoid cyberspace, so we have to learn how to interact within this challenging world.

EFFECTS OF THE EASTERN MIND-BODY PRACTICES ON MENTAL HEALTH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: WHEN EAST MEETS WEST.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: The paper aims at reviewing the recent studies on the impact of the Eastern mind-body practices on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: The recent studies (2020 - 2021) on the Eastern mind-body practices in combating the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were identified in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar. Research papers were found by using the keywords "mental health", "psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic", "Eastern mind-body practices", "meditation", "mindfulness", "yoga", "tai chi", "qigong". A total of 27 selected publications were analyzed based on our criteria. Given the relatively small number of relevant articles in recent years, we also examined papers published before 2020. Along with the aforementioned, the authors used integrative anthropological approach and interpretive research paradigm. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: The Eastern mind-body practices are becoming increasingly popular, especially now when the outbreak of COVID-19 has created mental health concerns among the general population worldwide. They may prove an effective preventive or therapeutical intervention for mental health issues during and after the pandemic. However, the underlying mechanisms of these techniques are still insufficiently studied. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a well-planned study and interpret it from multiply perspectives involving an interdisciplinary team of specialists.