How Do I Deal with Non-Members Engaging with My Medium Stories

A frustrated writer’s dilemma. Should I respond to comments and claps from readers who don’t have a paid subscription?

I have been writing on Medium for a while and I have noticed that my account has started to grow. I have been getting more claps and views on my posts, which is great. However, I have also noticed that a lot of people who don't have a yellow star or a yellow Friends of Medium flower like mine are highlighting, clapping, and commenting on my stories.

This baffles me because I thought that those people would have only been able to read a fraction of my story. They are all behind a paywall, according to the Medium Help Center. So, why are they engaging with my content? Are they lying about reading it? Are they wasting their time and mine? Or are they genuinely interested in what I have to say?

I love engaging with people and I appreciate everyone who reads my stories. I always try to reply to every comment with a meaningful response. But it takes me hours to go through all the comments and sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a wall. When I check their profiles, I see that they don't have a paid subscription. That means they couldn't have read anything past the paywall, right?

I’m kind of asking here. Am I right or am I wrong? Do I just start clicking on the person first, seeing if they are a member, and then not replying to their comment? I know it sounds brutal, but I don’t want to waste my time on people who are not really interested in my work. Or is my content so amazing and on fire that they resonate with a sentence and can’t be bothered to pay even the lowest fee for the minimum membership?

I’m not being nasty here. I’m purely asking for advice. If people could comment and let me know what their opinion of this is, that would be great. I’m sorry if I’ve got this completely wrong. I will delete this story if I’ve missed something.

I write this rant with heaps of love and with peace ❤️❤️❤️

LunarLinguist