Popular Among Distrustful Youth? Social Media Influencers’ Communication About COVID-19 and Young People’s Risk Perceptions and Vaccination Intentions

References

• Abidin, C. (2021). Singaporean influencers and covid-19 on Instagram stories. Celebrity Studies, 12(4), 693–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2021.1967604
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Abidin, C., Lee, J., Barbetta, T., & Miao, W. S. (2021). Influencers and COVID-19: Reviewing key issues in press coverage across Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea. Media International Australia, 178(1), 114–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X20959838
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Allgaier, J. (2020). Rezo and German climate change policy: The influence of networked expertise on YouTube and beyond. Media and Communication, 8(2), 376–386. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v8i2.2862
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Allington, D., Duffy, B., Wessely, S., Dhavan, N., & Rubin, J. (2021). Health-protective behaviour, social media usage and conspiracy belief during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Psychological Medicine, 51(10), 1763–1769. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172000224X
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Amazeen, M. A., Krishna, A., & Eschmann, R. (2022). Cutting the bunk: Comparing the solo and aggregate effects of prebunking and debunking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Science Communication, 44(4), 387–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221111558
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Baker, S. A. (2022). Alt. health influencers: How wellness culture and web culture have been weaponised to promote conspiracy theories and far-right extremism during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 25(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494211062623
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. General Learning Press.
   Google Scholar
• Beach, D. A. (1989). Identifying the random responder. The Journal of Psychology, 123(1), 101–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1989.10542966
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Berryman, R., & Kavka, M. (2017). ‘I guess a lot of people see me as a big sister or a friend’: The role of intimacy in the celebrification of beauty vloggers. Journal of Gender Studies, 26(3), 307–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2017.1288611
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bonnevie, E., Rosenberg, S. D., Kummeth, C., Goldbarg, J., Wartella, E., Smyser, J., & Visram, S. (2020). Using social media influencers to increase knowledge and positive attitudes toward the flu vaccine. PLoS ONE, 15(10), Article e0240828. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240828
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Briones, R., Nan, X., Madden, K., & Waks, L. (2012). When vaccines go viral: An analysis of HPV vaccine coverage on YouTube. Health Communication, 27(5), 478–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2011.610258
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2020). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 117, 510–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.005
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Castro, L., Strömbäck, J., Esser, F., Van Aelst, P., de Vreese, C., Aalberg, T., Cardenal, A. S., Corbu, N., Hopmann, D. N., Koc-Michalska, K., Matthes, J., Schemer, C., Sheafer, T., Splendore, S., Stanyer, J., Stępińska, A., Štětka, V., & Theocharis, Y. (2022). Navigating high-choice European political information environments: A comparative analysis of news user profiles and political knowledge. The International Journal of Press/politics, 27(4), 827–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211012572
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• CCDF. (2021). The Disinformation Dozen. http://bitly.ws/K42f
   Google Scholar
• Cheng, Y., Hung-Baesecke, C.-J. F., & Chen, Y.-R.-R. (2021). Social media influencer effects on CSR communication: The role of influencer leadership in opinion and taste. International Journal of Business Communication, 232948842110351. https://doi.org/10.1177/2F23294884211035112
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chinn, S., Hiaeshutter-Rice, D., & Chen, K. (2023). How science influencers polarize supportive and skeptical communities around politicized science: A cross-platform and over-time comparison. Political Communication. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2023.2201174
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dekoninck, H., & Schmuck, D. (2022). The mobilizing power of influencers for pro-environmental behavior intentions and political participation. Environmental Communication, 16(4), 458–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2022.2027801
   Google Scholar
• Dekoninck, H., Van Houtven, E., & Schmuck, D. (2023). Inspiring G(re)en Z: Unraveling (para) social bonds with influencers and perceptions of their environmental content. Environmental Communication, 17(7), 701–719. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2023.2237693
   Google Scholar
• Djafarova, E., & Matson, N. (2021). Credibility of digital influencers on YouTube and Instagram. International Journal of Internet Marketing, 15(2), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIMA.2021.114338
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dunn, A. M., Heggestad, E. D., Shanock, L. R., & Theilgard, N. (2018). Intra-individual response variability as an indicator of insufficient effort responding: Comparison to other indicators and relationships with individual differences. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(1), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9479-0
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Feng, Y., Chen, H., & Kong, Q. (2021). An expert with whom I can identify: The role of narratives in influencer marketing. International Journal of Advertising, 40(7), 972–993. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1824751
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Row, Peterson & Company.
   Google Scholar
• Fetters Maloy, A., & De Vynck, G. (2021, September 12). How wellness influencers are fueling the anti-vaccine movement. The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3kqIe9z
   Google Scholar
• Gerosa, T., Gui, M., Hargittai, E., & Nguyen, M. H. (2021). (Mis)informed during COVID-19: How education level and information sources contribute to knowledge gaps. International Journal of Communication, 15, 2196–2217. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/16438/3438
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. (2023). Indikator 1 der ECHI shortlist: Bevölkerung nach Geschlecht und Alter [Indicator 1 of the ECHI shortlist: Population by gender and age]. Statistisches Bundesamt. http://bitly.ws/K3I3
   Google Scholar
• Gleason, T. R., Theran, S. A., & Newberg, E. M. (2017). Parasocial interactions and relationships in early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 255. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00255
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Griffin, R. J., Dunwoody, S., & Neuwirth, K. (1999). Proposed model of the relationship of risk information seeking and processing to the development of preventive behaviors. Environmental Research, 80(2), S230–S245. https://doi.org/10.1006/enrs.1998.3940
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hameleers, M., Bos, L., & de Vreese, C. H. (2017). The appeal of media populism: The media preferences of citizens with populist attitudes. Mass Communication and Society, 20(4), 481–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2017.1291817
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Harff, D., Bollen, C., & Schmuck, D. (2022). Responses to social media influencers’ misinformation about COVID-19: A pre-registered multiple-exposure experiment. Media Psychology, 25(6), 831–850. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2080711
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Harff, D., & Schmuck, D. (2023). Influencers as empowering agents? Following political influencers, internal political efficacy and participation among youth. Political Communication, 40(2), 147–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2023.2166631
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hudders, L., De Jans, S., & De Veirman, M. (2021). The commercialization of social media stars: A literature review and conceptual framework on the strategic use of social media influencers. International Journal of Advertising, 40(3), 327–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1836925
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Lee, N.-J., & Feezell, J. (2011). Youth online activity and exposure to diverse perspectives. New Media & Society, 14(2), 492–512. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444811420271
   Google Scholar
• Kaiser, S., Kyrrestad, H., & Martinussen, M. (2021). Adolescents’ experiences of the information they received about the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Norway: A cross-sectional study. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 15(1), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-021-00384-4
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kalogeropoulos, A., Suiter, J., Udris, L., & Eisenegger, M. (2019). News media trust and news consumption. Factors related to trust in news in 35 countries. International Journal of Communication, 13, 3672–3693. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10141
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Katz, E., & Lazarsfeld, P. F. (2006). Personal influence. The part played by people in the flow of mass communications (2nd ed.). Transaction Publishers (Original work published 1955)
   Google Scholar
• Khamis, S., Ang, L., & Welling, R. (2017). Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of social media influencers. Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2016.1218292
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Klawier, T., Prochazka, F., & Schweiger, W. (2023). Public knowledge of alternative media in times of algorithmically personalized news. New Media & Society, 25(7), 1648–1667. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211021071
   Google Scholar
• Knobloch-Westerwick, S. (2015). The selective exposure self-and affect-management (SESAM) model: Applications in the realms of race, politics, and health. Communication Research, 42(7), 959–985. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650214539173
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Knoll, J., Matthes, J., & Heiss, R. (2020). The social media political participation model: A goal systems theory perspective. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 26(1), 135–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517750366
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kroger, J., Martinussen, M., & Marcia, J. E. (2010). Identity status change during adolescence and young adulthood: A meta-analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 33(5), 683–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.11.002
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Leader, A. E., Burke-Garcia, A., Massey, P. M., & Roark, J. B. (2021). Understanding the messages and motivation of vaccine hesitant or refusing social media influencers. Vaccine, 39(2), 350–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.11.058
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Le, L. H., & Hancer, M. (2021). Using social learning theory in examining YouTube viewers’ desire to imitate travel vloggers. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Technology, 12(3), 512–532. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-08-2020-0200
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lewis, R. (2020). This is what the news won’t show you: YouTube creators and the reactionary politics of micro-celebrity. Television & New Media, 21(2), 201–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419879919
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lou, C., & Kim, H. K. (2019). Fancying the new rich and famous? Explicating the roles of influencer content, credibility, and parental mediation in adolescents’ parasocial relationship, materialism, and purchase intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2567. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02567
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marchi, R. (2012). With Facebook, blogs, and fake news, teens reject journalistic “objectivity.” Journal of Communication Inquiry, 36(3), 246–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859912458700
   Google Scholar
• Martensen, A., Brockenhuus-Schack, S., & Zahid, A. L. (2018). How citizen influencers persuade their followers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 22(3), 335–353. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-09-2017-0095
   Google Scholar
• Müller, P., & Schulz, A. (2021). Alternative media for a populist audience? Exploring political and media use predictors of exposure to Breitbart, Sputnik, and Co. Information, Communication & Society, 24(2), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1646778
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Eddy, K., Robertson, C. T., & Nielsen, R. K. (2023). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 (12th ed.). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf
   Google Scholar
• Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Schulz, A., Andı, S., Robertson, C. T., & Nielsen, R. K. (2021). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021 (10th ed.). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://bit.ly/3zvAuHI
   Google Scholar
• Noar, S. M., & Austin, L. (2020). (Mis)communicating about COVID-19: Insights from health and crisis communication. Health Communication, 35(14), 1735–1739. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1838093
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ortiz, R. R., Smith, A., & Coyne-Beasley, T. (2019). A systematic literature review to examine the potential for social media to impact HPV vaccine uptake and awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about HPV and HPV vaccination. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 15(7–8), 1465–1475. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2019.1581543
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pöyry, E., Reinikainen, H., & Luoma-Aho, V. (2022). The role of social media influencers in public health communication: Case COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 16(3), 469–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2022.2042694
   Google Scholar
• Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, J., Maity, D., & Luoma-Aho, V. (2020). ‘You really are a big sister’ - Parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(3–4), 279–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2019.1708781
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Riedl, M., Schwemmer, C., Ziewicki, S., & Ross, L. M. (2021). The rise of political influencers—Perspectives on a trend towards meaningful content. Frontiers in Communication, 6, Article 752656. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.752656
   Google Scholar
• Rieger, M. O., & He-Ulbricht, Y. (2020). German and Chinese dataset on attitudes regarding COVID-19 policies, perception of the crisis, and belief in conspiracy theories. Data in Brief, 33, 106384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.106384
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rothut, S., Schulze, H., Hohner, J., & Rieger, D. (2023). Ambassadors of ideology: A conceptualization and computational investigation of far-right influencers, their networking structures, and communication practices. New Media & Society, 146144482311644. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231164409
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schäfer, M. S., & Taddicken, M. (2015). Mediatized opinion leaders: New patterns of opinion leadership in new media environments? International Journal of Communication, 9, 960–981. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2778
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schmuck, D. (2021). Following social media influencers in early adolescence: Fear of missing out, social well-being and supportive communication with parents. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 26(5), 245–264. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmab008
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2020). Celebrity vs. influencer endorsements in advertising: The role of identification, credibility, and product-endorser fit. International Journal of Advertising, 39(2), 258–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sherman, S. M., Smith, L. E., Sim, J., Amlôt, R., Cutts, M., Dasch, H., Amlôt, R., Rubin, G. J., & Sevdalis, N. (2021). COVID-19 vaccination intention in the UK: Results from the COVID-19 vaccination acceptability study (CoVaccs), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(6), 1612–1621. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2020.1846397
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sinclair, S., & Agerström, J. (2023). Do social norms influence young people’s willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine? Health Communication, 38(1), 152–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1937832
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sokolova, K., & Perez, C. (2021). You follow fitness influencers on YouTube. But do you actually exercise? How parasocial relationships, and watching fitness influencers, relate to intentions to exercise. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 58, Article 102276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102276
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Stehr, P., Rössler, P., Leissner, L., & Schönhardt, F. (2015). Parasocial opinion leadership media personalities’ influence within parasocial relations: Theoretical conceptualization and preliminary results. International Journal of Communication, 9(1), 982–1001. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2717
   Google Scholar
• Suuronen, A., Reinikainen, H., Borchers, N. S., & Strandberg, K. (2021). When social media influencers go political: An exploratory analysis on the emergence of political topics among Finnish influencers. Javnost – The Public. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1983367
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Theocharis, Y., Cardenal, A., Jin, S., Aalberg, T., Hopmann, D. N., Strömbäck, J., Castro, L., Esser, F., Van Aelst, P., de Vreese, C., Corbu, N., Koc-Michalska, K., Matthes, J., Schemer, C., Sheafer, T., Splendore, S., Stanyer, J., Stępińska, A., & Štětka, V. (2023). Does the platform matter? Social media and COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in 17 countries. New Media & Society, 25(12), 3412–3437. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211045666
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013). The differential susceptibility to media effects model. Journal of Communication, 63(2), 221–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12024
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Van Aelst, P., Toth, F., Castro, L., Štětka, V., Vreese, C. D., Aalberg, T., Cardenal, A. S., Corbu, N., Esser, F., Hopmann, D. N., Koc-Michalska, K., Matthes, J., Schemer, C., Sheafer, T., Splendore, S., Stanyer, J., Stępińska, A., Strömbäck, J., & Theocharis, Y. (2021). Does a crisis change news habits? A comparative study of the effects of COVID-19 on news media use in 17 European countries. Digital Journalism, 9(9), 1208–1238. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1943481
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Volkmer, I. (2021). Social media and COVID-19. A global study of digital crisis interaction among Gen Z and Millennials. University of Melbourne. https://bit.ly/3yQ3pra
   Google Scholar
• Weeks, B. E., & Gil de Zúñiga, H. (2021). What’s next? Six observations for the future of political misinformation research. American Behavioral Scientist, 65(2), 277–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219878236
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Westlund, O., & Ghersetti, M. (2015). Modelling news media use: Positing and applying the GC/MC model to the analysis of media use in everyday life and crisis situations. Journalism Studies, 16(2), 133–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2013.868139
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zhou, X., & Roberto, A. J. (2022). An application of the risk information seeking and processing model in understanding college students’ COVID-19 vaccination information seeking and behavior. Science Communication, 44(4), 446–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221120415
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zimmermann, D., Noll, C., Gräßer, L., Hugger, K.-U., Braun, L. M., Nowak, T., & Kaspar, K. (2022). Influencers on YouTube: A quantitative study on young people’s use and perception of videos about political and societal topics. Current Psychology, 41(10), 6808–6824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01164-7
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar