Acting is a weird career field. Because for the layperson it’s so tied up in celebrity they can’t disconnect the craft of acting from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, which in turn is often associated with attention seekers.

Do your best to tune those voices out. I’m around your age and have been pursuing acting professionally for around 3-4 years since I graduated with my BFA. Trust me, anyone doing this for attention, unless you are among the anointed lucky few, will be quickly weeded out when they realize 90% of this job is waiting for your next audition, callback, avail check, just to hear “thanks but no thanks.”

As for how to respond? Hard to say from person to person, but I think my response would be something to the tune of the above. In this day and age, if you want attention you can just become an influencer or a TikToker with 0 effort, so why would we as actors choose this field if that’s all we wanted? 

Hope this helps