I get that people can take being downvoted personally. (I sometimes do.) And sure, downvoting something that already has -10 points is mean and doesn't serve an

I get that people can take being downvoted personally. (I sometimes do.) And sure, downvoting something that already has -10 points is mean and doesn't serve anything. But being so protective of others in this regard, trying to protect them from receiving negative evaluations from people (random people from the internet you don't care about, no less!) is too much. I think that thick skin is something to be cultivated. Sure the other guy is mean, but if you feel so bad about it, then you should work on where your self-worth comes from. I'm not saying it's easy. From personal experience, I would say that it may very well be the case that you spend too much time focused on just this one thing (let's say computers) and so lack distance. Perhaps something else. Find out. Work on it.