Basically, social media allows people to divide themselves into tribes based on opinions and shared values. Social capital in those tribes is then accumulated by espousing those values more extremely than one's peers and being the first and most vocal proponent to shun those who deviate.
It's like watching the history of the Christian church for the first five or six hundred years played at 1000X fast forward, and on an endless loop.
(With pagan Vandal & Sassanid infiltrators cheering on every divisive opinion.)
If you're in a virtual community defined by concern for social justice, then the person with the most concern for social justice will have the most social capital. If you're in a community defined by being edgy, then the edgiest edgelord is at the top of the heap. You think (Black/Blue) lives matter? Well someone thinks they matter even more than you, you quisling. - View From The Porch
P.S. Because I had to look up some words, I thought I better provide some links:
I think Tam is right, plus I'd add people (mostly young) who have never had an opinion about anything serious in their life, find adopting one from somebody popular in the group gives them incrowd status. They firmly believe it... but no idea why.
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