In 1948 Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet set out to discover the "why" behind voters' decision-making processes during the 1940 U.S. presidential election. Through the research of these sociologists, the idea of two-step flow communication was birthed. The idea is simple enough. Two-step flow "communication theory proposes that interpersonal interaction has a far stronger effect on shaping public opinion than mass media outlets." Okay, I swear the two-step flow communication theory is simple. Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet realized people receive information from "opinion leaders through interpersonal communication rather than directly from mass media." Let's break it down even further by looking back at Sex and the City season 2, episode 5.
For those of you who don't worship at the altar of HBO romantic comedy/drama shows, the B plot of this episode is about the feud between Samantha Jones and a woman who found Samantha having an affair with her husband. The problem is the woman isn't just anyone; she is Sandy Cranwell. Godmother of Manhattan society Sandy Cranwell. Sandy Cranwell practically owned Manhattan, and she wanted Samantha off it. A "social hit" on Samantha was ordered, causing her to go "from A-list to blacklist."
This theory credits frequent media consumers to utilize critical thinking skills to listen to the media, develop their thoughts and opinions while sifting through the news, and then disseminate the information to others. You probably trust their take on the real happenings over some prominent news outlet reporters during this era of fake news. A simple way to think of this is to think of that friend you go to to stay up to date on current events. Sandy Cranwell is an opinion leader for the upper class and well connected Manhattanite. People all over the island iced Samantha out, having never met her and only basing their dislike of her on what Sandy Cranwell says. Sandy Carnwell's dislike trickled all the way down to Samantha having her reservations declined at restaurants and taken off the guest list of posh fashion shows.
Sandy Cranwell isn't the only thought leader in Sex and the City. Unarguably the biggest one is Carrie Bradshaw herself. "Bradshaw is a New York City newspaper columnist, party girl, fashionista, and later, freelance writer for Vogue." Her weekly column, "Sex and the City," is a massive opinion leader for what the rest of New York thinks about dating and other aspects of culture in New York. If she writes an article about how it's the new millennium and women should date who make less money than men, we see her friends Miranda and others around her doing just this after the article is published. If she writes an article about how the smoking ban on restaurants in the city is not fair, we see others in the episode begin to criticize the Mayor. Throughout the show Carrie will write about a new hip nightclub and the masses eat her words up and make the club an overnight hit.
We see opinion leaders on TV every day. These tend to be the main characters of the shows. In my personal life, if I don't understand what is happening in politics in the real world, I call my friend Emily. Chances are her lawyer husband has already spoken at length on the subject. She puts the phone on speaker, and I instantly know my thoughts on the political issue. He is an opinion leader in my life. I trust JC over the media most times. I know that JC has read the said bill, oral arguments, or other documents that explain the political issue much more in-depth than the media. I am almost ashamed to say, but I'm sure you've guessed this by now, Sex and the City was once a BIG opinion leader for me. Carrie and the girls looked glamorous sipping cosmos, so I sipped cosmos. Carrie told us the most fabulous shoe of all time is the blue Manolo Blahnik with a silver jeweled broach. A shoe that costs $800-$900, and yet, I still have this delusion that one day I will buy it.
One of the funniest things I think about the Two-Step Flow Theory is that your opinion leader probably has an opinion leader. Recently I was sharing with a coworker my thoughts on fast fashion and how it is not just hurting the economy of the country's far away, but how the ramifications trickle back to the United States. I was also sharing my opinions on legislation that was coming up relating to the topic. She shared with me she hadn't heard about most of what I was sharing and told me she often listened to the world's news first from me and would go on to share the information with her mom. I was her opinion leader.
I didn't have the heart to tell her my opinion leader was JC, a podcast leader, the girls from Sex and the City, my therapist, and a few news articles. And right there, I realized I might have found a significant flaw in the Two-Step Flow Theory. Are any of us qualified to be opinion leaders? Sure, JC has a law degree, but besides my charismatic personality and a love of pop culture and media, what are my qualifications to be an opinion leader?
If this topic is interesting and my Sex and the City references were a little too dated, check out this video!
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