>>Don't worry, Twitter isn't real life.
For the most part yes, but President Trump's behavior on Twitter can have serious consequences in the real world. I think that the behavioral norms of social media are penetrating deeper and deeper into culture.
You seem to be taking "not real life" too literally. I'm not saying "nothing on Twitter affects real life". The point is that it's often a poor representation of real life.
Small but highly vocal groups can have a seemingly loud and powerful voice. Yet the results of polls and other public signals (even election outcomes) are frequent reminders that what is gospel on Twitter is often detached from 'real life'.
Using a president of a major country is a poor example in this context. But if anything Trump being one of the first major Twitter users strongly reinforces my point. Prior to election he tweeted plenty of things most mainstream US republicans wouldn't touch with a 10 foot poll. Let alone what an average American would say IRL (even right leaning ones).
Not to mention Twitter is a global platform so conversation around local politics can be heavily skewed by people not even in the country.
But otherwise I agree, it is infesting real life far more frequently these days. And it is worrying. Despite everything I said above, big corporations, the media, politicians, etc can't seem to make this distinction and take what is popular there as a direct reflection of the general public. And it creates a negative reinforcing spiral.
