Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)

Analysis on the Role of Opinion Leaders

Three Case Studies Based on Two-step Flow Communication Theory

Authors
Hanwen Zheng1, a,*, , Peishan Song2, b, *, , Yiran Zhang3, c, *,
1Jilin International Studies University, Changchun, China
2Heibei University, Baoding, China
3Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China

These authors contributed equally.

*Corresponding author. Email: achenyu@jisu.edu.cn
Corresponding Authors
Hanwen Zheng, Peishan Song, Yiran Zhang
Available Online 17 January 2022.
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.220105.164How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Opinion Leaders; two-step flow communication theory; social networks
Abstract

Opinion leader is an important concept derived from the two-level communication theory, with special emphasis on the role and function of “middleman” in the process of mass communication. With the development of Internet technology and social media, traditional opinion leaders began to transform to new opinion leaders, and gradually played a more diversified role in the online world. This paper takes three cases as examples to analyse the role of opinion leaders. Specifically, the cases are the public opinion leaders on public emergency under the background of COVID-19, the promotion of knowledge bloggers to education, and the new opinion leaders in internet celebrity economy. According to the analysis, the effect of opinion leaders in modern society is very diverse and extensive. In detail, network opinion leaders are easier to be concerned and trusted by the public, which has a positive social impact while often possesses a negative impact for many reasons. This study will provide some case study basis for the research on the influence of opinion leaders in the new media era, and will be beneficial to further explore some problems such as the generation of the influence of opinion leaders in the future.

Copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
17 January 2022
ISBN
978-94-6239-512-1
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.220105.164How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Hanwen Zheng
AU  - Peishan Song
AU  - Yiran Zhang
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/01/17
TI  - Analysis on the Role of Opinion Leaders
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 889
EP  - 894
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.164
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.164
ID  - Zheng2022
ER  -