Communication is a world of different perspectives and points of view, in which everyone has something new to share and talk about a certain topic. One theory has been in the talk ever since and that is The Two-Step Flow Theory which was put together by Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet in 1948 in one of the books named People’s Choice, after looking through the decision-making process while the presidential election for the United States took place in 1940.
The two-step flow theory of communication is something we use and implement in our day-to-day lives. Two-step theory in simple and easy words is like playing pass and the passing game in which whatever we receive we pass on or the telephone game where one whispers into another’s ears and the flow goes on. The flow of information and effects received from different media forms to their target audience has an involvement of two steps, those two steps include media to people and from those individuals to the public. The term “people” refers to opinion leaders who influence our knowledge about a certain topic or issue and mostly try to shape our understanding and we as the public build are own perspectives and judgments about that certain topic which is influenced by the opinion leaders. Opinion Leaders are people who are very active media users and pick information from media and spread or share it with non-media users.
One of the most prominent examples of today’s time is the social media influencers who not only influence our choices but also help shape our mindset about a certain topic. Social media influencers shape our thinking and one of the examples that perfectly fit in with this would be the beauty choices, since everybody likes to look beautiful and well-groomed. The social media space is dipped into thousands of reels talking about DIYs or in a social media language “Hacks”. One of my most liked influencers comes from my motherland India, her name is Kritika Khurana and her content enhances my understanding of self-care I share the set of knowledge gained from her with others, and this can be a prominent example. This bit of knowledge affects the audiences in a good and a bad way both since the way the information flows is what matters the most.
There are many other personalities who affect our flow of knowledge. There are a lot of spiritual leaders who help us enhance our knowledge shape our understanding of life and spiritually enlighten ourselves. They help us mold our beliefs, and values by making us think about the choices we make. The understanding they have gained in these years of experience is now helping us receive that knowledge and share it with others with a blend of our experiences as well.
The step-flow theory is and should be very relevant in today’s era since this theory helps us reflect on the knowledge and the kind of knowledge we gain from media and public figures also known as opinion leaders. These leaders are the ones who have remarkable power in molding our thinking.
Two-step flow theory by Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet gives a very important and remarkable structure for knowing how information goes around or spreads across and how perspectives, judgments, and opinions are made. This theory focuses on the importance of opinion leaders in our society.
