i feel like to an extent i agree with you here, and ive already said how frustrated i get with having to pussyfoot around criticism with adults making at least semi-professional work - however, another part of me totally understands why unsolicited crit is ill-received, and i feel like the rule 'ask for consent before giving feedback' isnt a terrible one
by academia, are you referring to crits? if we take crits as an example of a place where you will be faced with unsweetened challenges to your work, i think it works well to show how consent can help with giving and receiving feedback. in a crit the rules are clearly laid out and the conversation is moderated, so the criticism remains constructive and focussed on the work - it also means that (hopefully) you are fully prepared emotionally and intellectually to take criticism when you enter that space.
if someone isnt prepared for unsweetened crit, esp in a comment on the internet, theyll default to the most common social norm online: 'this is an attack and i must fight back.' even face to face theres a high risk for people to get defensive if they dont know where youre coming from and/or are immature and not ready to hear it. like, i recently had a one to one crit from a teacher i really respect, and i had nooooo idea before we got started that it was gonna be a crit, so i dont think i responded the best i could to his challenges for the first like 10 minutes while i was tryna figure out why he had changed his tune so quickly (though it was fine bc wed built up a rapport so i was used to his feedback style n could quickly cotton on.)
i also kinda like the compliment sandwich. i agree its not really necessary for a mature professional in a setting where feedback is expected, but if youre feeding back to like... a highschooler, a stranger sharing their brainchild online, other various forms of babu, its a great way to quickly say 'there are things you did well, dont quit forever, but improve on that.' also, honing in on the things a creator does well can help them extend that Good Bit to the rest of their work, bc now theyve identified it.
start with this (the nightvale writers) did a podcast on feedback that i think shares a lot of good ideas on the best environment to constructively give and receive feedback. idk if i agree w everything they say, but its a thought provoking take
https://beta.prx.org/stories/273387