alt Hacker NewsTo focus on one very small part of this article:
> For instance, shortly after college, I thought I would post a few funny videos on YouTube and, you know, become instantly famous2. I gave up basically right away. I didn’t have the madness necessary to post something every week, let alone every day, nor did it ever occur to me that I might have to fill an entire house with slime, or drive a train into a giant pit, or buy prosthetic legs for 2,000 people.
That's not the hard part.
The hard part is dealing with all the negative comments. My buddy posted a few videos on Tiktok a few weeks ago. Would any of you like to guess how many comments are straight up telling him to kill himself? Here's a hint: whatever you guess, it's likely much lower than the actual number.
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Death threats are always inexcusable & unjustifiable; that said, what exactly did he post? Perhaps some forms of content attract way more spite and hate than others?
I think in this day and age, with the combination of a young & unruly audience plus the edginess allowed on many platforms, you're going to be exposed to shockingly unfiltered behavior.
I also think there are specific forms of content (and your strategy of engagement online) that can mitigate this, e.g. posting political content versus some non-topical artwork.
> The hard part is dealing with all the negative comments.
That's the easiest part for anyone who's been on the internet long enough.
> Would any of you like to guess how many comments are straight up telling him to kill himself?
I wouldn't and don't care and your buddy shouldn't either. Modern content creation aka TikTok is basically shouting into the void. Why would I care what the void shouts back?
As someone who's also posted quite a bit on sites like YouTube over the years, I wouldn't say the amount of negative comments have been that overwhelming. They certainly exist, but they've always been a minority of the comments on my own videos.
But it's definitely dependent on the topic you're posting videos about, the audience you're aiming at and I guess how unlucky you are when it comes to attracting trolls and other troublemakers.
You definitely do need a thick skin though.
Developing a thick skin is a part of all art. It just takes time.
Statistically there are always people that try to find entertainment in others misery. Expect a base rate of 1:10 sociopaths, 1:100 psychopaths, and 1:5000 in active psychosis. Those groups covert narcissism means any perceived slight to their ego is never forgiven, and they often try whatever scheme they think they can get away with... The funny part is often at trial these people are honestly shocked their world theory doesn't hold up under community laws.
However, expecting other people to accept personal behavioral choices is also ethically a big ask of society. In some ways, honesty is less insulting than disingenuous sycophancy, or demanding people change to suit your preferences.
One must accept there are bears in the woods, lions on the plains, and poisonous snakes in the grass. Have a great day =3
Comments sections on mainstream sites are universally garbage dumps, and you just have to ignore them. I don't know why sites even add them. Must be some "best practice" from Web 2.0 back in 2004 that nobody's questioned ever since.