Two‐Step and Multistep Flows of Communication

Abstract

Abstract Two‐step flows of communication join mass communication and interpersonal communication. Formulated in early studies that began to consolidate the field of media and communication research, the two‐step flow model served to identify the complexity of the effects of mass media on individuals, groups, and societies—and of communication as a general social process. The model helped to differentiate the understanding of media “effects,” over time and at various levels of individual and collective cognition and action; it also anticipated current conceptions of communication in society in terms of networked structures and flows. With digital and mobile media, communication can be seen to flow in multiple steps and directions, across a growing range of technological platforms, if still anchored in humans as embodied communicators.

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