When did you start realizing positive attention wasn't always actually positive?

Kind of weird question, I dunno how long the title can be, so long version now. At what point did you you stop enjoying positive attention mentioned to you and realized that you didn't want to receive specific kinds of attention? Example: you get cat-called, you suddenly feel more attractive and it makes you happy. After a certain amount of time you start disliking it because you understand it's not just kindness and compliments. I'm not sure if this is actually a good question but I thought it was interesting when I made this.

i didnt like being in the spotlight when my anxiety got bad and i started developing social anxiety, so around 7th grade i think i never liked cat calling i had big boobs since elementary school and i always hated them being gawked at or pointed at or called weird names like "jiggly tits" makes me wanna puke

Cant say anything about the cat calling specifically.... but hearing anything too much can make you question it. Like why do people think that or why would they say that in the first place. It puts more attention on it and everyone... well most people have a negative self image so the longer you question it the worse you look to yourself... It all depends on the person and their view on themselves but i think that is a majority of it, at least from what ive seen from both having sisters and just talking to people in general... Personally i have a love hate relationship with attention.. one second i want it, the next second i dont... Might have something to do with anxiety or other issues. Everyone wants to hear that everything is ok but the more someone hears it the more questions pop up... In short anxiety plays a big part for most people and a negative self image.. at least thats what i think... Still hate crowds or talking to strangers... always awkward.....especially if they say something nice and you dont know how to respond Oh i went on a rant and didnt answer the question.... woops ummm 5th grade maybe? when i started becoming the outcast from moving around too much. I think it all started then. I wanted to be a loner from then on, thinking it wasnt worth it, and that led to not knowing how to approach people anymore. I dont think its a question of positive attention for me tho... i just didnt want any attention... too much pressure

That's fine, you don't have to be super accurate. It's just it's a funny thing, attention. It's something people crave but hate, but you bring a nice point about how the more you look at it and the more people point it out, the worse it gets. When I was a kid, I learned how to read by myself much before anyone else my age so I had a lot of attention then that got boring and suddenly no more attention. It's different than my own question but that sucked lol. Then, it's not entirely true but guys never get compliments (mom and aunts saying you're beautiful doesn't count, their love is unconditional) but once I started crossplaying, I get a few comments on it and I really enjoy it but I'm too innocent about it, like, pretty sure some comments I get aren't entirely "good". I'm like, wait should I enjoy that compliment, was it malicious? I can tell being cat-called isn't good even though it feels good, in a way. First thing I can think of is girls usually get a lot of attention, part of me think they're lucky but then I stop that thought, actually it must be pretty annoying and even make them uncomfortable, after a while. Lamby also brings the point of disliking being in the spotlight. I hate that too, I like small amounts at a time but never like being the center of attention.