Here opinion leaders were people who kept up to sped on the latest story, and appeared to be aware of all sides and opposing parties in any given topic. The opinion leaders would then pass on their opinions, presenting them to those who were interested to hear about whatever they chose to talk about. Yet this theory also implies that too many are sheep to the opinions of there piers.
Another approach highlights that the media, in particular television is a substitute for people who lack certain aspects of a healthy social life, this is not to imply that everyone who watches soap operas are people with no life of their own. Instead it, the media, is taken to be a light-hearted companion of sorts.
A simple and obvious aspect of the increase in the daily consumption of the media is the birth of a mass of people becoming 'couch potatoes'. Since the introduction of the television into the majority of households we all have a tendency to seek a common fix of entertainment from the 'idiot box'. Instead of indulging in a book, which would require a certain level of concentration it becomes all to easy just to lift up the remote and flick about. In this light there is the creation of a culture of couch potatoes which is especially prevalent in Western societies. It could be assumed that these people would be more susceptible to the fads, fashions and ideologies which are transmitted via television. This could be correlated against this decline in the general health of societies who posses readily available access to large forms of the media.
The consumption of the media is viewed by some, Keane (1991), to unite individuals into a classless community, in a way making the audience into a single group of people who are merged by the various forms of entertainment available. It has brought about the embracing of a culture which has become shattered and factioned, but mass proudly under their always faithful friend, namely the television set.