Acceleration and Personalization in Social Media and Their Relation to Children's Mental Health.

In the article Social Media and Activist Communication by Thomas Poell and Jose Van Dijck, "acceleration" and "personalization" are two terms that the authors talk about in terms of social media. When a post gains traction, it is referred to as "acceleration." Information in a post is better spread to others on the internet the more that it is shared, liked, retweeted, etc... I believe that this can go hand-in-hand with "personalization" because if someone can relate, they are more likely to share it.

Children's mental health is an important topic that is typically disregarded because most people feel as though young people haven't experienced life yet. This thought process isn't helpful to those who children who are truly struggling to figure out their feelings and figure out how to properly deal with them. While they haven't experienced the struggles that adults go through, they have their own issues that they may need help exploring (such as bullying, puberty, struggles at home, etc...) They need someone to help them talk through their feelings as opposed to disregarding them.

This post is an example of some ways that a parent, caretaker or teacher can help a young person express how they're feeling in a safe and positive way. It is also a post that represents "personalization" and the possibility of going through "acceleration." Most people have or have interacted with children whether they are a parents, an aunt or uncle, a teacher, or a therapist. The "personalization" aspect of this comes into play because of this. People who want to spread awareness about how to actively help with this issue will post and share resources that can inform others about it. And as it gains traction, it will become "accelerated" because it is an important topic for those trying to figure out how to help their children.

Mental Health Awareness is important especially for youths. Poell and Dijick's terms fit well for those advocating for causes that they find the most important to them. Both terms work well for what I want to advocate for because of how many people are affected by mental health. Different platforms can be utilized to spread awareness. Advocates just have to use it to their advantage to further spread information to those it would affect.