Rethinking Tarde’s model in the social media era and digital news: The moderating role of proximity

Abstract

This article revisits Gabriel Tarde's Press-Conversation-Opinion-Action model, introducing proximity as a moderator to examine its relevance in contemporary digital communication environments. While social media connects people across distances, enabling global discourse and expanding the reach of public conversations, physical proximity continues to play a key role in translating awareness and collective opinion into tangible action. The analysis adapts Tarde's framework to contemporary communication contexts, offering a refined understanding of how proximity influences the flow from conversation to action in increasingly interconnected communication landscapes.