When it comes to social media, we all have that one friend who loves to broadcast their opinions to whoever might be listening. Another common “friend” on social media is one that pays close attention to the news and often posts articles for others to read. Frequently, the opinionated poster and the media conscious friend are one and the same. For those who are not as up to date on the news, this person can serve as a connection to the information the media puts out. The “Two-Step-Flow” theory (in Communications) states that information from media must go through channels in order to reach as many people as possible. For the many people who go to social media to find news, they can usually rely on friends to keep them in the loop. According to the theory, people keeping their friends and followers in the loop are called the “Opinion Leader.” They receive the information from the media, interpret it, and relay it to the rest of us. In traditional forms of the “Two-Step-Flow”, the “Opinion Leader” is an influential person, who often shares similar beliefs of those who respect, or follow them. However, especially in this day and age, the opinion leader does not always have to be someone of particular influence. They could just be a friend one follows on social media. No matter who the opinion leader is or what their connection is to their followers, their role is to interpret and pass along messages from the media.
While the above tweet satirizes the information, it still provides followers with the basic story while also communicating its repercussions.
This post recaps a recent senate vote and urges others to take action
This “opinion leader” shares a news article and pulls an intriguing quote from the article.