From a Historical Hero/Demigod/Titan to an Influencer

Abstract

For young people, there is practically no distinction between a celebrity and an authority, a demigod, and an influencer. In practice, the historical heroes are almost unknown in many conversations. On the other hand, popular influencers are completely unrelated to the older generation. A certain definitional chaos can be observed among contemporary Polish youth. In this article, we want to present basic definitional concepts that are an example of generational change. In our opinion, the change in meaning of the concept of a hero is best captured by a generation of young people who probably understand the concept of hero in a different way than it was understood 30 or 40 years ago. The research method will be a questionnaire, and the research tool will be an internet questionnaire. The research group will be selected purposefully—with a minimum of 30 respondents aged 19-24, using new media. The collected data will be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. It should be emphasized that research conducted on a purposefully selected group cannot be generalized for the entire population. However, it will shed light on the way of changing the meaning of this concept and the perception of contemporary heroes, who are often identified with influencers.