How do you handle hateful comments?
I’m trying to master the art of not caring, but it isn’t easy.
After everything’s said and done, I can reflect and realize that the opinions of random people on the internet mean nothing, especially considering they’re typically just trolls. But in the moment, it just gets to me. Is there a way to learn to how to brush things off easier? Probably easier said than done, I know. But I’d like to know if anyone has any effective coping skills if they’ve had such experiences.
If you’re interested to know the “inspiration” for this question...
I made a post on another site about how shallow people can be online, using my experience on Instagram. All I did was explain how many (random) people follow me, then unfollow if I don’t follow back or like everything they post. As if my “friendship” is worthless if they’re not getting anything out of it (the appearance of popularity). Some guy commented, saying my Instagram is “depressing af” because I post pictures of cats and an “anorexic girl” (which is me, evidently, though I don’t see the validity in that), and it’s understandable why everyone unfollows me (which was completely beside the point of my post). Another detail worth noting is that this came from a thirty-five year old man, and I’m a nineteen year old girl.
Now that I’m not engaging in the conversation, I see how stupid it is. Any middle aged man who wants to criticize and insult a teenager isn’t worth getting upset over. But in the moment, I was pretty upset. Racing heart, shaking hands kind of upset.
So, with that in mind (if you cared to read, it’s fine if you didn’t - it was nice just to vent), is there a way to handle situations like this better?
Thank you to anyone who read this and to anyone who wants to share their advice. I really do appreciate it, and it’s times like this that I see the beauty in this site. I have yet to find a better platform for venting frustrations and feeling a little less alone in the world.
After everything’s said and done, I can reflect and realize that the opinions of random people on the internet mean nothing, especially considering they’re typically just trolls. But in the moment, it just gets to me. Is there a way to learn to how to brush things off easier? Probably easier said than done, I know. But I’d like to know if anyone has any effective coping skills if they’ve had such experiences.
If you’re interested to know the “inspiration” for this question...
I made a post on another site about how shallow people can be online, using my experience on Instagram. All I did was explain how many (random) people follow me, then unfollow if I don’t follow back or like everything they post. As if my “friendship” is worthless if they’re not getting anything out of it (the appearance of popularity). Some guy commented, saying my Instagram is “depressing af” because I post pictures of cats and an “anorexic girl” (which is me, evidently, though I don’t see the validity in that), and it’s understandable why everyone unfollows me (which was completely beside the point of my post). Another detail worth noting is that this came from a thirty-five year old man, and I’m a nineteen year old girl.
Now that I’m not engaging in the conversation, I see how stupid it is. Any middle aged man who wants to criticize and insult a teenager isn’t worth getting upset over. But in the moment, I was pretty upset. Racing heart, shaking hands kind of upset.
So, with that in mind (if you cared to read, it’s fine if you didn’t - it was nice just to vent), is there a way to handle situations like this better?
Thank you to anyone who read this and to anyone who wants to share their advice. I really do appreciate it, and it’s times like this that I see the beauty in this site. I have yet to find a better platform for venting frustrations and feeling a little less alone in the world.
