CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
Tuesday's Talker is about something that seems to happen to a lot us when we're on social media. We get mean. Sometimes mean beyond all recognition.
Surf through the news any day and you're likely to see a bunch of stories about someone who tweeted or posted something outrageously inappropriate.
The Olympics have brought a lot of this out. Our first example is a tweet from the Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella.
After his team lost, Sunday, to South Korea he said in a tweet that Koreans, quote, "can go burn." He also referred to them using a racist term. As a result, he was booted off his team and sent home. He has since apologized.
Another twisted message was from an Olympic fan. It was directed at the British diver Tom Daley. His father died a year ago and, before the Olympics, he said he hopes to win a medal in his honor. But he finished a close fourth yesterday, just missing a medal.
That prompted this sick tweet from an account belonging to a 17-year-old: "you let your dad down. I hope you know that." it was followed by a threat. The 17-year-old has been arrested. Sending menacing messages online is a crime in Britain.
Separate from the Olympics, a teenaged tweeter in Edinborough, Scotland sent out a photo of a man lying in a road. He said he thought the man was drunk. He did nothing to help him. It turns out the man was dying; he'd been hit by a car. The teen could face criminal charges.
And here's a story from Dallas that's getting a lot of attention. An 11-year-old girl sang the national anthem at a professional soccer game.
Harper Gruzin admits it was not her best performance. She says she couldn't hear herself sing in the giant stadium, got off-key, and just couldn't recover.
But the online chatter was over-the-top harsh. Things like: "my ears are bleeding." "She sounds drunk." "In three years she will be drug addicted." And," you (blanking blank)."
We asked a psychologist why an otherwise well-adjusted person might turn ugly online. He said, often, people are just too hyped up.
