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Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what

rate new ideas and technology spread. Everett Rogers, a professor
of communication studies, popularized the theory in his book Diffusion of
Innovations; the book was first published in 1962, and is now in its fifth edition (2003).
[1] Rogers argues that diffusion is the process by which an innovation is
communicated over time among the participants in a social system. The origins of the
diffusion of innovations theory are varied and span multiple disciplines.
Rogers proposes that four main elements influence the spread of a new idea: the
innovation itself, communication channels, time, and a social system. This process
relies heavily on human capital. The innovation must be widely adopted in order to
self-sustain. Within the rate of adoption, there is a point at which an innovation
reaches critical mass.
The categories of adopters are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority,
and laggards.[2] Diffusion manifests itself in different ways and is highly subject to the
type of adopters and innovation-decision process. The criterion for the adopter
categorization is innovativeness, defined as the degree to which an individual adopts a
new idea.

Social marketing theory is a theory of mass communication that promotes socially valuable
information and socially accepted behaviors. It tries to integrate marketing ideas, principles, tools,
techniques and socially beneficial concepts to promote communication and benefit society

Media dependency theory, a systematic approach to the study of the effects

of mass media on audiences and of the interactions between media,
audiences, and social systems. ... In general, the extent of
the media's influence is related to the degree of dependence of individuals
and social systems on the media.

Knowledge gap Systematic differences in knowledge

between better-informed and less-informed segments of
a population
knowledge gap in those countries between the well
educated and less educated and between those who
were financially well off and those who weren’t.
• Agenda Setting The idea that media don’t tell people
what to think, but what to think about
Agenda-setting theory describes the "ability (of the news media) to influence the importance placed
on the topics of the public agenda". Agenda-setting theory was formally developed by Max
McCombs and Donald Shaw in a study on the 1968 American presidential election.

The spiral of silence theory is a political science and mass communication theory proposed by

the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. It states that a social group or society
might isolate or exclude members due to the members' opinions. This stipulates that individuals
have a fear of isolation. This fear of isolation consequently leads to remaining silent instead of
voicing opinions. Media is an important factor that influences both the dominant idea
and people's perception of what the dominant idea is. The assessment of one's social
environment may not always correlate with reality.