One of the things I love about Twitter is that you can interact with people that you normally would never get the chance to. Getting a response from a famous music artist or an athlete is pretty nice and it allows that celebrity to appear “real” instead of someone we see on TV or in magazines.

But Twitter also gives the avenue for people to act a certain way that I don’t think they normally would.

This morning, 49ers CB Chris Culliver tweeted out a simple message to his fans. Given that he has had a rough several months with his homophobic comments before the Super Bowl and his recent tweet about degrading women, it’s expected that people have a disliking towards him. Also, his performance in the Super Bowl was very poor.

I followed this tweet and the responses to it because I expected fans to either respond back with hate about his comments or his play. Not all of the responses were negative, but these stood out to me.

Fortunately all these responses were solely based on his performance on the field. But were all these responses fueled by that, or were they partially fueled by his recent mistakes?

It makes me wonder why people act a certain way. I’m sure if they were talking with Culliver face to face, they wouldn’t say that exact stuff to him. Or maybe they would.

The Internet allows us to get a little more dosage of reality with so much access and information. But it also serves as a mask for people who act out a certain way that they know they can’t do outside their home. The Internet, especially now through Twitter, has given the average fans total control of everything.

So many times I’ve read tweet responses to many athletes and a lot of them are harsh. That’s why athletes shut down their account. That’s why athletes never actually read the responses. For every positive reinforcement, there seems to be a negative comment that comes also. Athletes aren’t immune to criticism, but Twitter gives the fans that kind of access to be direct.

(To be fair also, athletes can avoid this by not tweeting or putting themselves in vulnerable position. It’s a two-way street, but nothing the athlete does usually warrants any kind of harsh behavior from fans.)

It’s a reminder that we are blessed to have so much that Twitter has given the average fan. But it has changed us and for some, it turns them into very cruel people. It’s part of the ever-growing way we cover things. With more access and power, the more we will see and have to deal with. That’s the good and evil of Twitter.