Social media companies have been thrown in the spotlight over cyber bullying highlighted at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. British short track speed skater Elise Christie has been disqualified twice so far at the Games and revealed after the second setback that she had been subject to bullying and abuse on twitter and Facebook.
It emerged that much of the abuse had come from Korea where one of the competitors fancied for Gold had fallen in a crash ultimately blamed by the referees on Christie.
She was clearly upset in post race interviews and it was one of those moments where the pressure of competition and disappointment were vividly revealed.
British Olympic Association officials called yesterday for the social media companies themselves to take some responsibility but this was met with a pass back from twitter that with 500 million tweets a day posted it was impossible to proactively police.
Social media has driven huge interest in the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 and at #Sochi2014. It is a means whereby competitors like Lizzie Yarnold can reach out to fans in a way never previously enjoyed by competitors or fans. It is a double edged sword though.
In sport you put yourself out there in a physical and a mental way that is rarer in other aspects of society. Whether the event is watched by billions across the globe or by dozens of friends on a sideline you make a choice to say ‘I can do this’.
When something goes wrong it is tough enough to bear without a massed ranks of experts jumping onto phones and tearing strips off your already fragile confidence.
Social media is as much a part of young athletes lives these days as nutrition and training plans. It is nonsense to suggest they should simply stop using it for the duration of an extended stay away from home, even if it can have an impact on their concentration.
The pressures on young people and athletes with regard to mental health are being tackled by good people within sport and education. This is another high profile example of how we need to prepare our youth for the troubles they may face.
Christie races for the third time this morning in her final event. After losing one medal and a place in a second final to refereeing decisions she will face a battle in her mind as well as on her skates.
We wish her the best of luck today, though we cannot do so on twitter because she felt she had to cancel her account. That is a shame on those who use the medium to troll and abuse those who are willing to stand up.
