Millennials: A Generation of Opinion Leaders
October 9, 2008
Tuesday night, I missed the second presidential debate. But, I wasn’t really concerned that I would miss out on something important. It wasn’t because I don’t think the debates are of value (although sometimes that’s questionable), it’s because I have a whole group of peers out there publishing a continuous cycle of information and opinions on everything. It feels like I can’t miss a beat.
I’m sure it’s not surprising as a 20-something that news outlets and TV are not necessarily what I turn to for updates – it’s other 20-somethings. But perhaps it is surprising how much I value those opinions.
On Tuesday, Editor and Publisher posted an article by Maegan Carberry, “The Media Challenge: Millennials Need News — But Also Opinion Leaders.”
Here’s a quote from the article describing Millennial opinion leaders,
“Civically speaking, there are always varying degrees of engagement and output, and millennial opinion leaders are the zealous, concerned individuals who pull from their peers and inspire them to participate. For a casual citizen and light news consumer, this peer is the tantamount trusted source of substance: He opens the links to articles she recommends; absorbs the momentum when her status reads “Voter registration deadlines today!”; learns about current events from his conversations with her, and so on.”
We are a generation of opinion leaders. And it’s not just the zealous ones that are making it happen. The number of Millennials participating in important issues, particularly around this presidential campaign, is truly overwhelming.
I only have to think of my own daily routine to realize the impact of my peers, the Millennial opinion leaders. I turn to social networks, like Twitter, for the information I need first, and traditional news channels second. When I don’t agree with someone on an issue I am more likely to intently read their arguments and consider their perspective if they are a valued peer. It is the thoughts and opinions of those around me that I value the most, not journalists and political pundits.
Carberry’s conclusion poses this question: “Does an opinion leader replace a news outlet as a credible source in this culture?” Her answer is no, but what’s yours?
-Rachel
Entry Filed under: Millennials. .
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Greg Rollett | October 10, 2008 at 10:00 am
I think we all are affected by our peers and people we admire. Traditional media is not the appealing medium for us, so therefore they are not a “trust” associate.
Someone’s blog that I read daily, or someone that shares interesting thoughts on Twitter, etc will have more of an impact on me as that is the world that I am involved in and interact with. It’s great that my peers have opinions, but also that they allow for conversations to happen around these opinions if I disagree or think that they missed a point or two. That’s the power of the social net, the ability to interact and learn from people!