Politically influenced by nonpolitical actors? Longitudinal reciprocal associations between social media personalities’ political social media posts and political interest in adolescence

Abstract

Social media personalities—including influencers, athletes, and celebrities who are typically nonpolitical figures, such as Taylor Swift—now serve as a primary news source for many adolescents on social media This study, grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, explores how exposure to political content from adolescents’ favorite influencers and celebrities on social media may reciprocally relate to their political interest. A three-wave panel study collected data among 520 French adolescents (M_age = 15.14, SD_age = 1.90, 58.7% girls) in 2021–22 and was linked to content analytical data on the political posts of adolescents’ favorite accounts. The random intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed no significant between-person differences or within-person reciprocal effects between exposure to influencers’ and celebrities’ political content and adolescents’ political interest. Furthermore, neither peer nor parental political interest moderated these relationships. Explanations for the absence of media and selection effects are discussed.