I've been bullied over this.
Popularity isn't great. It can stress many people out because more people will start to demand art. I've seen many great artists leave this website because of stress. Sending someone over to explain in better words doesn't mean I'm a very stupid or weak person. I can speak, yes, but I stopped.
But I can't stress this enough.
Popularity is overrated for me if support doesn't come with it. Favorites may be nice, but maybe not all people want them. Same with comments. You can tell that a favorite artist of mine disabled comments for their own reason. I have my reason for not liking favorites.
Tbh, when this person told me that I needed to fix my self-esteem, that just made me think, "maybe it's them that doesn't have it..." because I was polite in my very first comment. They have over 1,000 watchers, but I know others with more. They're on DA for 17 days, but the artists I watch that are popular have been on here for 3 years. I've told them that popularity is something you earn, much like respect. You can't force it.
Except, with the artists I've watched that are popular, I've seen a few leave DA because of stress. I don't want to feel stressed out about having others demand art from me.
This is just how I've seen popularity. But what is it really?
One more thing.
I draw for fun, not fame.