It feels great to create something. You made something that you wanted, it has entered the world and taken form. You like it so much you think others should see it too. When you start putting yourself out there, you are open and vulnerable. Getting poor feedback feels bad but it’s inevitable.
Why do people on the web feel the need to be negative? There are many great and supportive online communities out there, but it can feel like the vast majority are just filled with haters. You post your hard work to a page only to have it voted down instantly by some bot and your creation never sees the light of day.
I think by understanding the motivations behind negative feedback creators can take this to learn and improve.
Don’t take it personal!
The first takeaway from internet negativity is to not take it too personally. People being rude really shouldn’t reflect on you, it is a reflection of their bad behavior and self hatred. Although we don’t deserve cruel comments just for trying to share our work, it is unfortunately a reality. More often than not, mean feedback is coming from a place of frustration. These people have been hurt and they now want to force that hurt onto others. Don’t let them win! Chase your dreams!
Bad feedback isn’t the worst thing – No feedback is the worst thing!
One of the healthiest ways to view negative feedback is to change your worst case scenario. This is basically looking at your worst fear in putting yourself out there. For most of us, our worst fear is negative feedback. It’s scary to have someone say your work sucks or it’s trash etc. and it hurts. However this is not really the worst fate for your work!
The worst thing that can happen for a creation is for no one to see it. For it to just enter the void. The world doesn’t owe you anything just because you made something, and even though you may have got a negative response they still took the time to tell you. Count that as a win! As an artist your goal is to elicit a response. Social media grows through engagement, whether positive or negative.
Everyone is a critic!
People love to criticize things. Odds are, people will find fault with your work rather than like it. It’s easy to criticize something and it makes you feel superior. It’s a cheap thrill. Again, don’t take it personal. It’s so hard to make something great so keep at it!
Keep it in perspective!
Don’t let the one bad feedback ruin the rest. We can get so stuck on the bad it’s important to remember a lot of people probably did like it. Count every win and count your losses as wins too. You tried and you put it out there. It’s hard to create! Don’t give it up!
Peace and Love!
