What's been Steemit up to?

I've been gone since summer 2018. The world has changed since then.
I wonder if Steemit has changed as well.

When I left, I didn't see much purpose in staying. The number of my subscribers was increasing, unlike the engagement with my posts, unfortunately. Even if the bots were also upvoting and reposting, what would be the point if other humans did not really care about my words?

I'm afraid the world is not exactly overflowing with philantropists.

I think the initial idea of Steemit is brilliant. It demonstrates how can the flow of money be diverted through smart use of technology. However, unlike the US government, Steemit can't create money out of thin air. The value of Steem can grow only if people are buying it. The increase in value can be sustained only if they're buying in order to use it here.

And who wants to use Steem here? It would be nice if it were just people who want to consume the content, but I'm afraid the world is not exactly overflowing with philantropists. More likely, the active steem users will just want to increase their reach, whether it's to directly or indirectly sell a product, or to increase traffic towards another channel that's directly monetizable through advertisement.

As I see it, the current world of cryptocurrencies is built on extreme optimism and baseless positivity to the point of delusion. I hope I'm wrong. Prove me wrong, please. If you know a way how to be optimistic about the future of crypto again, I'm in.

Here's just some communist artwork called Young steel workers.
I was just wondering if all the delusional enthusiasm arond crypto reminds me of anything... Come forth, to fulfill the next five-year plan!