THE RISE OF THE INFLUENCER ECONOMY: CONTENT CREATORS OVERTAKING TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION
Keywords:
digital communication, influencer marketing, media engagement, public opinion, digital trustAbstract
This systematic literature review investigates how social media influencers (SMIs) are overtaking traditional media in shaping public opinion. Drawing from 26 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2020 and 2025 and sourced exclusively from the Scopus database, the review synthesizes empirical and theoretical insights into the mechanisms driving influencer impact. The selected studies span marketing, communication, politics, and sociology, employing various methodologies including surveys, interviews, and content analysis. Findings reveal that influencers foster trust through parasocial relationships, emotional storytelling, and niche alignment, positioning them as credible alternatives to traditional media. Influencer content was shown to outperform conventional outlets in terms of engagement, trust-building, and behavioral influence. However, challenges such as misinformation, ethical ambiguity, and commercialization persist. The review utilized thematic coding for data extraction and applied the CASP checklist to assess study quality, ensuring methodological rigor. Results underscore a paradigm shift in digital communication, with influencers acting as powerful cultural intermediaries. This review offers critical insights for scholars, marketers, and policymakers by highlighting the implications of influencer authority for public discourse, consumer behavior, and media ethics.
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