Virtual reality in adolescent mental health management under the new media communication environment

With the rapid development of new media communication environment, adolescent mental health problems are increasingly prominent, and innovative intervention methods are urgently needed. Virtual reality (VR) technology, as an immersive medium, provides new possibilities for adolescent mental health management. However, the existing research has not fully explored the specific application effect and mechanism of VR technology on adolescent mental health management in the new media environment. This study evaluates the application effect of VR technology in adolescent mental health management through randomized controlled experiments. 789 adolescents aged 12 to 18 are randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The experimental group receives VR technology-assisted mental health intervention for three months, including cognitive training, emotional adjustment, social skills improvement and other modules, while the control group does not receive any intervention. Through questionnaire survey and expert interview, the study analyzes the data from five dimensions: cognitive ability, emotional attitude, social behavior, adaptability, and social interaction. The results show that the experimental group is significantly better than the control group in all mental health indicators, with an average score of more than 3.19. Expert interviews further confirm that VR technology can effectively help teenagers learn emotional regulation and social skills. The research result shows that VR technology has significant advantages in mental health management in the new media communication environment, which can effectively promote the psychological development and social skills improvement of teenagers. This discovery provides a new tool and method for mental health intervention, which has important theoretical and practical significance.