Work

Revisiting opinion leadership in the digital realm: Social media influencers as proximal mass opinion leaders

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Social media influencers (SMIs) are ordinary people who rise to fame via social media. These individuals have repeatedly been labeled as opinion leaders, but often without in-depth theoretical reflection. We fill this gap by introducing a novel typology that allows for greater scrutiny in the identification of different types of opinion leaders in the modern media environment. Using this typology, we adequately capture—for the first time—opinion leadership as practiced by actors like SMIs, describing them as Proximal Mass Opinion Leaders (short: ProMOLs). We highlight that—despite their reach—ProMOLs exert a seemingly interpersonal and horizontal influence by engaging in personalized communication with opinion followers in self-built networks. Furthermore, we theoretically model the various flows of communication between ProMOLs, their communities, and other actors in the public sphere, thereby illustrating the multiple layers of ProMOLs’ impact. Finally, we discuss the model’s implications and suggest directions for future research.

Source: New Media & Society

DOI: 10.1177/14614448251336441

Authors: Darian Harff, Paula Stehr, Desiree Schmuck

Institutions: University of Vienna, KU Leuven, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Language: English

Topic: Social Media and Politics

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900

Funder: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek