I have a love/hate relationship with social media. On the one hand I like the connection and the ability to occasionally have my turn on the soap box. I can signal my agreement with the hive consensus and be patted on the back. Connection is a good thing. We all need social alliances.
On the other hand it is a game of popularity and group think which very closely mimics women's social relationships. For that reason it is not very welcoming of aggressive and dominating behavior. The forcefulness of the male character is a disadvantage in this environment, tending to be ostracized and shunned.
It can overemphasize the importance of external validation as a requisite for self esteem. Internal validation should be the primary source of self worth and that doesn't require a social network.
We see that play out in the way people react to not getting the votes/likes/retweets they think they deserve. It is taken as a personal affront, when in fact it should never be a measure of a persons worth. Seeking that external validation has become an addiction for some.
Great comment, thank you @seablue.
I haven't experienced the same negativity to the "forcefulness of the male character" that you're describing, so I'm not really sure what you mean there. I think the experiences we have online are directly related to the communities we join. If your community is different than mine, you'll have a different experience than I do.
I completely agree regarding the concerns about external validation and expectations. I've written about this a couple times here and here.