I was under the impression it was primarily " if it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it" levels of tradition.

I could be wrong though, so if someone with more creds than a random internet dweller comes along, feel free to ignore me.

Heck, if you think I’m an idiot, feel free to ignore me :)

So the interesting thing about this is that I personally don’t think just because you haven’t had those experiences doesn’t mean you can’t write about it (for the most part, I think there are likely exceptions I would draw the line at). However, as someone who hasn’t experienced those things, my reasoning goes, it’s part of your duty to ensure it’s not going to cause harm, and that takes a lot of research into the topic (ideally with people who have experienced what you want to write about) along with a healthy dose of empathy.

I think you’ve made some mistakes in the past that you’re currently feeling growing pains from. Don’t feel like you’re a bad person just from your past actions, you seem to be growing. You’d be a worse person than you are if you were continuing to do it on purpose despite realizing all of this.

The only issue I currently take with it is when it’s presented as real. Otherwise, creative writing is a good thing in general. It’s like the set of emotions one uses to approach the content with is different when one thinks it’s real vs when one knows it’s fake, and people get real sore when they feel like their emotions have been exploited for any reason, even if it’s only for internet points that don’t matter for anything.

I really hadn’t considered the trauma perspective, I seriously don’t understand why someone would fake a story about enduring trauma for internet points… But that’s my perspective.

Personally, when I find out reddit stories are fake, I usually just feel a little annoyed and roll my eyes, but then I move on. I don’t think it’s really anything to beat yourself over. Keep writing, just advertise it for what it actually is (just my opinion of what the best path forward is though, this is not a command lol)

In the words of one of my favorite memes that I’m too lazy to learn how to link right now: '“who would do that? Go on the internet and tell lies?”