How To Be Impervious To Online Criticism
They say there are only two things in life that are guaranteed: death and taxes.
Well, there’s a third — online trolling.
Here’s the deal — if you do anything at all to draw attention to yourself online (or in any other sphere, come to that, but I’m focused on the internet here) then you WILL receive criticism.
It’s just the way things are. If you post consistently on pretty much any platform (including this one) then in the end you will receive ‘feedback’ from the real world that might include:
- Faint praise
- Mild disagreement
- Outright rudeness
- Threats of various kinds (fortunately these are rare, but still)
There are many different shades of flack that come in between those categories listed above of course, but you get the general idea.
Snark
While we’re at it, here’s a phenomenon that seems largely relegated to the online sphere — people on the internet are incredibly snarky and aggressive.
Far more than they would be in real life.
Say you meet an author at a party and you hate his book. What will you do? Likely you’ll either not mention, or say something vague like ‘it wasn’t my thing’.
Online, though, put out a book people don’t like and you’ll get comments telling you that you should never write again, that you should exile yourself to the Sahara, that you should suck on a Smith & Wesson, and so on.
Why people think that it’s OK to say this stuff just because they’re sitting behind a computer screen when they wouldn’t dare to face-to-face is beyond me.
The one thing I learned about online criticism in 20 years
But anyway, I digress. And the truth is, the headline to this article is a lie — or at least, it’s a big exaggeration, since to my knowledge there’s no way of becoming entirely impervious to online criticism.
(I’m looking forward to seeing those Smith & Wesson comments below!)
There is, however, one thing I’ve learned after nearly 20 years online and it’s this — don’t argue with anyone.
Or at least, don’t have a protracted argument with anyone you don’t know online.
It’s a complete waste of time, no one ever wins, and it will only make you feel worse.
Even if you do ‘score a point’ against them, chances are you’ll wind up feeling guilty and silly for wasting your time.
So if — when — they come for you, don’t rise to it. Say your piece once, if you have to, and then move on.
Mute, delete, block — do whatever it is you have to do. Just ignore the trolls and carry on.
They are not important. But your work — that’s important as hell.
In fact, it’s everything.
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