The Cost of the Internet "Gotcha" Culture: Why We Must Stop Tearing Creators Down
Updated: 6 days ago
Let's talk about this...
The discussion point - part 3
The cost of the internet "Gotcha" culture: Why we must stop tearing creators down
A recent event niggled at me: I had a negative word - not a comment - about an interview article I shared in a group. Using the variable of time, the reader wouldn’t have been able to read the whole article from the point I shared it and his one negative word. I spoke to ChatGPT about the topic of people’s negative, unproductive comments. Chat listed reasons for such behaviour, and the 4th reason was ‘he’s just a dick’. It made me crack up. Could Chat have been listening to my verbal reaction when I said the word out loud? It’s scary.
Let’s talk about making mistakes.
Everybody makes mistakes. Even the most seasoned journalists, bestselling authors, and professional writers drop a typo, misspell a name, or get a fact wrong.
It’s a natural part of the creative process, and as Albert Einstein famously reminded us, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” When you slip up, the key is not to beat yourself up, but to dust yourself off and treat it as a valuable learning experience.
Yet, whenever a mistake slips through, a vocal subset of the internet acts less like readers and more like forensic detectives hunting for prey.
What drives people to take such malicious satisfaction in pointing out minor errors in a cruel, pointless way?
What is happening to our empathy when putting others down becomes a daily pastime?
A careless correction or a snarky comment might feel like a minor interaction to the person behind the screen, but to the writer, it can ruin an entire day or trigger a spiral of self-doubt.
In worst-case scenarios, it leaves talented people questioning their entire career choice. Why are so many onlookers indifferent to the emotional toll of their words, and why don't more people care about cultivating a kinder digital space?
What are your thoughts on online criticism versus constructive feedback?