Social Media As Real World?

Several items from the Atlantic’s profile of Representative Jasmine Crockett have gotten public attention. One item that appears overlooked, but that I find especially disturbing, is that Rep. Crockett said she believed that she was entitled to become chair of the House Oversight Committee because she had the largest social media following of any of the candidates for the position. And that she monitors her social media engagement “like a day trader checks her portfolio.”

Wow. There really are people who think social media is the real world.

I have heard general claims that there are people who treat social media as the real world. But I assumed those claims were hyperbole or exaggeration. Yet here we have a specific account of a real person who seems to embody that idea. Rep. Crockett thinks she deserves important, substantive positions based on social media factors. Really? Social media following is a measure of real-world competence, skill, knowledge, or value? How does that compute?

Encountering this embodiment of “social media is the real world” disturbs me because I fear she is not unique. Problems will arise if many people treat social media as though it’s the real world.