It's a common misconception that social media represents a diverse cross section of the population. While this may be somewhat true over all platforms, individual platforms cater to specific demographics.
For example,
• Tik Tok is popular among younger audiences
• Facebook is mostly used by older people.
• Pinterest is predominantly used by women
• Twitter attracts those who are more vocal and opinionated
• and so on
However, even before considering these demographic differences, social media already discriminates against those who are economically disadvantaged and lack access to technology or the internet. Additionally, many people may have access to technology and the internet but have no interest in using social media. Furthermore, language and cultural barriers can also limit representation on social media.
In reality, the audience on social media is a very small subset of society, and it's important to recognize that it doesn't represent the entire population. It is therefore foolish for marketers to assume that complainers on social media are representative of their target market.
Right. And, it is also foolish to think that when the media cites social media sources as "proof", it isn't representative. Generally, it is the loudest voices of a minority opinion.