I recently published a video on YouTube that had a very opinionated title. I talked about why people shouldn't buy the Kindle Paperwhite, and instead buy the Kindle Oasis. 

Countless individuals commented taking offense to my video and defended their Paperwhite. 

In the video, I made it clear that my thoughts don't apply to everyone, and the Paperwhite may be a good option for some people. Many of the comments were healthy debates, but some were rude and defensive. 

Most of the time, people aren't rude by default. This is an emotion that comes out when there's something stressful happening in life. The comments section on the internet is where people go to anonymously vent their frustrations on random people. 

When I get a rude comment, I recognize that it's more about the commenter than about my video. I make it a point to respond with kindness and respect. 

It's already rare enough for creators to respond to every comment they get. That's step number one. But when a creator responds to negative comments with humility and compassion, it's almost unheard of. 

Whenever I do this, the commenter will often respond back with an apology. They rushed into commenting without watching the entire video and realized they made a mistake. 

Rude feedback is a reflection of the anonymous person behind the screen, not the creator. 

Showing compassion will prove it.


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I post a new essay every day, but to prevent spamming your inbox I only choose to email a few of them each week. Here are my previous HEY World posts.

Thank you for reading.