MAIN DIRECTIONS OF MASS MEDIA INFLUENCE ON INDIVIDUAL’S LEGAL CULTURE

Abstract

The article deals with the content and characteristics of directions of mass media influence on individual’s legal culture. Main directions of legal influence, such as informative-legal education, legal nurturing, legal propaganda are defined by the author. Today there are a lot of problems in Ukraine, which prevent the country from becoming a developed European state. One of these problems is undeveloped legal outlook and legal nihilism of public and local self-governing authorities, and citizens, in particular. Taking into account everything mentioned above, effective legal influence is extremely important, and legal civility and high level of individual’s legal culture will be the results of this influence. The urgency of the issue lies in the fact that mass media influences legal awareness and individual’s legal culture; society’s perception of legal information depends on its operation. The aim of the paper is to distinguish and characterize main directions of mass media influence on individual’s legal culture. The press, TV and radio, as well as electronic mass media are the media that broadcasts spiritual and legal values in mass consciousness, makes powerful influence on individual’s legal awareness. Through legal influence national mass media regularly provides information on national legislation, the activities of the legislative, executive, judicial branches, the state of public order, law violations fighting, especially among minors, law violation prevention, etc.; general and educational television and radio channels, pages, headings and other popular forms of legal information are created. As we know, mass media is an institution of individual’s legal socialization. Legal socialization is the result of positive legal influence of mass media. Some elements that are destructive to an individual may be present in the process of legal socialization. Watching TV programs containing antisocial scenes is closely connected with antisocial behavior. Psychologists call it modelling of mass media acquired behavior, the result of learning through observation, which can also be called nonlegal or unlawful socialization. Among other things, there is a negative aspect of resorting to news and analytical programs which involve the selective supply of legal information on television and radio. Feature films, documentaries and criminal chronicles promote standards of legal behavior, which are incompatible with legal values of Ukrainian society. To sum up, it is possible to identify the following main areas of mass media influence on individual’s legal culture on the basis of the study: a) informative and legal education which forms legal thinking and individual’s legal outlook; b) legal nurturing that determines a positive attitude towards the law and individual’s good behavior, and is implemented through systematic legal influence on a person, development of his focus on socially active good behavior; c) legal propaganda which forms an individual’s conviction that it is necessary to follow rules of law and strengthen positive legal orientations. Mass media legal influence should not be limited only to the distribution of knowledge on legislation to citizens, it is also important to form an individual’s conviction that it is necessary to follow rules of law, create a positive attitude towards the law and have good behavior.