Constituents of the Seventh Congressional District can read Danny K. Davis’s newsletter and show up at his public meetings, but there will be no writing on his wall.
As members of Congress have flocked to social media outlets in recent years, Representative Davis has held out. The seven-term lawmaker from the Near North Side is the only member of the Illinois delegation without a Facebook fan page, Twitter account, YouTube account, RSS feed or Flickr account.
This social media disconnection is rare in Congress.
“We haven’t made a determination that there was any particular need to do it,†Mr. Davis said. “We pretty much stay so busy.â€
Recently, Josh Shpayher, a Chicago lawyer, created a graph charting every Congressional member’s use of social media.
Mr. Shpayher, who previously interned on Capitol Hill, noticed a general trend that members representing rural or poorer districts had less presence online. Recently elected members, meanwhile, were most plugged in. In Illinois, Representative Mike Quigley, a Democrat, engaged multiple platforms while Senator Richard J. Durbin, another Democrat, holds steady with a lone, uninspired Facebook page.
“Some congressmen have poor Web sites that were thrown together 8 to 10 years ago,†Mr. Shpayher said, adding that Mr. Davis has a decent Web site. “What is so amazing is to get an RSS feed on your Web site that is one line of code for whatever programmer is in charge. I don’t know why every member of Congress doesn’t have one.â€
David Faris, an assistant professor at Roosevelt University who studies the intersection of media and politics, thinks Mr. Davis is missing an obvious opportunity.
“Ignoring social media today is like deciding not to fund-raise,†Mr. Faris said. “So while a Danny Davis Facebook fan page might seem like a waste of time, there are hidden dynamics of influence that make ceding such territory a huge political risk.â€
Mr. Davis said he was not opposed to increasing his social-media profile — perhaps “when it’s cold.â€