Research On The Influence Mechanism Of Social Media Opinion Leaders On Netizens’participation In The "Double Reduction" Issue

Social media is a platform for netizens to engage in Internet activities,and it is also a public opinion position for social hot events.Education has always been the focus of attention,and on July 24,2021,the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-campus Training for Students in the Compulsory Education Stage,proposing to reduce the homework burden and off-campus training burden of students in the compulsory education stage(hereinafter referred to as "double reduction"),marking the official landing of the "double reduction" policy.As an innovative reform of China’s education transformation and high-quality education system,the "double reduction" policy has aroused widespread attention from social media netizens and aroused heated discussions and public opinion on the Internet.In the dissemination process of the "double reduction" issue,social media opinion leaders played a role in influencing the views and behavior of netizens,thereby affecting the evolution of public opinion on the "double reduction" issue.Existing research has shown that opinion leaders have certain characteristics that influence people’s attitudes and behaviors.Regarding the "double reduction" issue,this study will explore how social media opinion leaders influence the participation behavior of netizens and the mechanisms through which they achieve this influence,in order to gain a deeper understanding of the inherent connection between these two issues.Based on the SOR theory,this study constructs an influence mechanism model for netizens’ participation behavior,with social media opinion leaders’ individual characteristics(specialization,credibility,and popularity)and information characteristics(timeliness,usefulness,and information quality)as independent variables,parasocial relationship and wishful identification as mediating variables,and netizens’ participation behavior as the dependent variable.Based on an online survey that collected 506 valid questionnaires,Smart PLS3 software was used to validate the model.The following research results were obtained through structural model testing and mediating effect testing:(1)The individual characteristics of social media opinion leaders,including their specialization,credibility,and popularity,as well as the information characteristics of information quality,significantly affect netizens’ perceived parasocial relationship,and the popularity and information characteristics of timeliness,usefulness,and information quality significantly affect netizens’ generated wishful identification.(2)The credibility,popularity,and information quality characteristics of social media opinion leaders significantly affect netizens’ participation in the "double reduction" issue through parasocial relationship,while the popularity,timeliness,and information quality characteristics significantly affect netizens’ participation in the "double reduction" issue through wishful identification.(3)Neither specialization nor usefulness can influence netizens’ participation in the "double reduction" issue through parasocial relationship or wishful identification.This study innovatively proposes a mechanism through which the characteristics of social media opinion leaders influence netizens’ participation behavior,and popularity and information quality are important influencing factors for social media opinion leaders to affect netizens’ participation in the "double reduction" issue.In the future,in the guidance and governance of public opinion on the "double reduction" issue,opinion leaders can be trained and guided based on their popularity and information quality,without excessively pursuing their specialization or usefulness.