A short update before I return to writing, editing, and a bit of harmless mischief
Happy Sunday.
Over the past few months, quite a few loyal readers have written to me with a simple question: Where did you disappear to?
Some assumed I was working on a new project. Others wondered whether I had taken a quiet break from the internet. One reader jokingly asked if I had finally escaped social media and moved somewhere peaceful with a stack of books and no Wi-Fi.
The truth turned out to be stranger.
For a while, Substack believed I might be under sixteen.
Yes, you read that correctly.
According to an automated system connected to the platform, there was a possibility that I was a teenager. Because of that suspicion, my account suddenly required age verification before I could log in, write, edit, or even read content.
For those who don’t know, I am a best-selling Substack author with thousands of subscribers (216,000+) and also a Substack educator who published 6 courses about it on Udemy.
You can check the official page of From Zero to Substack Hero here:
https://digitalmehmet.com/from-zero-to-substack-hero-training-program-official-page/
For a moment, I stared at the screen, wondering whether this was some kind of digital prank.
After all, I have been writing online for years. I run writing communities, curate publications, and teach a six-level Udemy course explaining how Substack works for creators. I have also recorded more than fifty videos where my face and voice appear very clearly.
Yet somewhere inside the machinery of automation, an algorithm looked at all that and quietly concluded:
This person might still be in high school.
Now I will admit something honestly.
My first reaction was laughter.
Maintaining youthful curiosity after years of writing and teaching feels like a compliment. If enthusiasm for ideas makes an algorithm think I am under sixteen, I will gladly accept the praise.
Still, the situation created a real obstacle. The system would not allow me to continue my normal activities unless I verified my age through an external identity process. That process involved sharing personal data with a verification service responsible for confirming identity.
At that point, I paused.
Like many creators, I prefer to be thoughtful about where I share personal information online. When an automated system already struggles to identify whether you are a teenager or an adult, handing it more sensitive data requires careful consideration.
So instead of rushing through the process, I decided to do something more familiar.
I wrote about it.
The result became an open letter reflecting on automation, trust, and what happens when digital platforms forget the human context behind an account. The experience turned into an interesting lesson about how modern platforms operate, how creators interact with automated systems, and why transparency matters for both sides.
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending.
After reviewing the situation, Substack lifted the restriction and restored normal access to my account. Apparently the system eventually realised that I had crossed the rather important milestone of turning sixteen.
Better late than never.
I will soon return to my usual writing, editing, and community work on the platform. In the meantime, the full story behind this strange episode — including the lessons it offers for creators — is available in the article linked below.
If you have ever wondered how algorithms sometimes misunderstand very human situations, you might enjoy the read.
You can read the full story on Medium.com titled After Being Hacked, Substack Finally Decided I’m Old Enough So I’ll Be Back Soon: A creator’s reflection on automation, trust, and the strange times a platform believed I was under 16
Thank you for reading my story.
If you are interested in Substack or Patreon, you are welcome to check out my courses on Udemy. Here are the discount vouchers for March:
And we also completed a new course titled Patreon Mastery.
You can learn about it from this Patreon story by Dr Yildiz: What If Your Creativity Could Fund Your Financial Freedom for a Lifetime?
If you are a new reader, check out some of my most loved stories from different topics in my writing collection on this platform.
Gaming, Fun, and Humor: The Lifelines That Rescued Me From Social Media’s Grip on My Life
Finding Comfort in Blocks: How Minecraft Eased My First Time Loneliness and Intense Grief at 17
AI Can Now Create Photorealistic Videos From Just a Text Prompt
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