“I wrote an article, but there's no reaction” | A prescription for when you feel like giving up

To you who feels like you're "not being read" even though you are

“I get likes. I get comments. My view count isn't zero, either.
And yet, I somehow feel like I'm 'not being read'."

Have you ever felt that way?

I have. No, I feel that way all the time.
Even with my own articles that I re-read and think, 'Hey, this is interesting!', I end up thinking, 'Maybe no one is actually reading this properly.'
I didn't write them because I wanted to be evaluated, but even so, I still end up wanting a reaction that is something more than just numbers or words.

But when you think about it calmly, it's not that you're 'not being read,' it's just that it's hard to get a sense of being read.

The true nature of 'feeling like you're not being read even though you are'

Unlike other social media, note is a 'quiet medium'.
It's rare to go viral through quote-reposts like on X, and it's rare to have a long list of comments like on YouTube.
Numbers are displayed, but you don't know how they were read.

“Did they read it to the end?” “Did they just skim it?” “Where did they drop off?”
That 'lack of feedback' is what leads to the feeling that you're 'not being read'.

But conversely, most readers are just people who read quietly, gently, and then close the page.
It's not that you aren't being read; it's just that the letter saying 'I read this' doesn't reach you.

The 'presence of the reader' shown by numbers

Something I noticed when I analyzed my own note.
For example, if an article has 10 'likes' and 100 'views', that's a 10% like rate.
Up to here, it's just a calculation.

But it's said that the average read-through rate (whether it was read to the end) on note is actually 20–30%.
In other words, if 100 people read it, 20–30 people are actually reading it to the end.

If 10 of those people pressed 'like', isn't that proof enough that it's reaching them?

And among the 70–80 people who didn't press like, there are surely people who thought, 'I'm glad I read this.'
They just didn't put it into words.

Try believing that it's getting through

You tend to want to measure 'feedback' by reactions from the outside.
But in reality, readers are sometimes nodding quietly, silently, in their hearts.

note might just be the kind of place where things 'reach' people in that way.

That's why 'feeling like you're not being read' is also proof that you're writing with care.
It's precisely because you're writing articles that truly 'reach' people, rather than articles that are read lightly, that the silence of the reaction bothers you.

It has reached someone and remains within them.
Even without feedback, I believe that writing quietly permeates.

If you still feel anxious

Something I do from time to time.
I re-read my past articles and tell myself again, 'Hey, this is interesting!' or 'This is a good article!'
Since I often don't remember the phrasing or details of past articles myself, I can read them with a relatively fresh perspective.
For the first time, I can become a 'reader of my own article' for a little while.
(And I even make a few corrections. Haha)

Even if there's no reaction, and even if the numbers are small, your writing is surely remaining in someone's heart.
It's not that you aren't being read. It's just that you can't immediately confirm whether it reached them.

So, let's try believing a little more.
That the writing you created is quietly lighting up someone's heart somewhere today, too.


If this article has been able to accompany your little bit of 'writer's loneliness,' then for me, that alone is enough to feel that I was properly 'read'.

Because you are surely that kind of person, too.

When I was feeling that vague sense of 'I don't feel like I'm being read...', I was once saved by a small notification of a 'like'.
I wrote about that time in this article.

Congratulatory boards I've received so far but haven't made into an article.
Thank you so much...!