The Problem With Steemit
I've done it. You've done it. The entire Steemit community has done it. When you go out to eat, do you ever wonder why all waiters and waitresses seem to never stop smiling? Because the more they smile, the more money they get tipped. Sure, the smile is pleasant for the duration of your dinner, but it's not real. The second they walk away from your table, they're a completely different person, muttering obscenities under their breath about everything and everyone. They simply put on a pleasant facade in order to make as much money as possible, often times without even realizing it.
It's no secret that money is one of the most powerful influences over human behavior, often times even surpassing the power of love. It's not with malicious intentions, and most people don't even realize that they're doing it, but the fact remains that the human psyche will conform to appeal to the masses if it will make more money than by being their normal self.
Steemit differs from Reddit in that Steemit users have a very real, very enticing monetary reward for engaging with the community. The result is an overwhelming amount of waiters and waitresses, and I'm sure most users don't even realize you're doing it. I stopped using Steemit because I couldn't get engaged in the fake conversations that took place in the comments. Even arguments seemed far too polite to be real. I tried writing interesting articles, I tried writing provocative articles, and I even tried blatantly shitposting to try to draw a reaction from people. In the end, I came to a conclusion that I should've realized from the start: everyone is just here to make money. As a means of distributing cryptocurrency, Steemit is great. But as a social network, Steemit is inherently flawed.
Now I'm not trying to disrespect the Steemit community. I firmly believe that there are plenty of great people on here. The purpose of this article is to point out how when money acts as an incentive, human behavior changes. And maybe my experience with Steemit isn't typical. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the platform, and I am completely open to any disagreement or criticism. I'm not sure what enticed me to write an article after several months of not using Steemit. I'm sure this article will just get washed away with the hundreds of other articles written by people who have struggled to gather a following, but if you're reading this, look more carefully at the behavior of everyone in the Steemit community.
I think you bring up some interesting points in regards to how money helps incentivize behavior but I don't necessarily see them as a negative thing and personally that is one thing I've enjoyed about the platform, is that it's not full of hyperbolic asshole trolls like on virtually every other platform. HOWEVER.. Where I majorly disagree with you is that.. There are indeed a few of those not so pleasant people that I have encountered.. In over a year of using the platform I can count them all on one hand probably.. But.. They exist, I've got into some ridiculous arguments on here, you just have to express an opinion that isn't popular to the right people like on any social media or in certain places in person as well.. I think perhaps.. You just didn't try enough, cause.. I've had a few really annoying encounters on here that were stressful as heck and reminded me of the kind of people on YouTube and Facebook who give those social media bad names and reputation.
I personally think it's cool that this platform is sort of.. Using algorithims that promote what I believe to be good social behavior and civilized communication. If you're an obnoxious troll, you're probably not going to do to well on here, however.. If you're respectful and well intentioned.. You probably will do much better.
If people can't learn to be civil and respectful on their own, I think it's great that there's a social media out there that pays and rewards and sort of subconsciously promotes or conditions them to be more civil and respectful.
However in the end.. If you wanna get into some angry shitstorm debates, that can be found here as well.. That's one of the cool things about steemit.. You can find an audience for most things if you look. It's sort of like a reflection of society in that it's essentially just a tool for people to communicate with. So it's not necessarily the tool itself that is good or bad, but it's how the people choose to use it.. At least that's my opinion!
The main point I was getting at is that money changes how people behave, even if its subconscious. I don't necessarily think that it always manifests itself in the form of being fake, but I think that the fact that you're paid to interact with people inherently stunts certain behaviors that would be plentiful on any other platform. And I'm not necessarily talking about trolling or negative behavior, but just the way people conduct themselves in interactions. I think that Steemit is a fascinating idea, I just think that it's flawed as a social network. I know the only reason I made an account was because of the money, and I'm sure that was the case for everyone else here, otherwise they'd be on a platform with a larger user base, like Reddit.
You're definitely right about me not trying enough though. I just got frustrated with spending an hour writing an article and having it earn 2 cents. I just heard about the sign-up bonus at the time and made an account. I tried for a couple of weeks to gain a following through the discord chat but obviously didn't succeed. Throw in the fact that I don't even like writing and you can probably see that my dislike of steemit stems from much more than peoples conduct hahahaha
That's not true. Money was a factor for me, but it definitely was not the only reason. The lack of censorship was a major pull as someone who has been censored on Facebook a lot and as someone on YouTube also dealing with similar issues.
There are others as well, while I can't speak for them myself I've seen similar sentiments echoed from others.
When I said you weren't trying enough I meant in regards to getting in arguments and heated debates, not about steemit in general though that does tell me you perhaps have a bone to pick because you didn't do well on here.
I dunno how long you tried, but.. it's definitely not easy.. It takes a while, it is hard work. Or at least it can be. Some may have found easy ways to do it, though for most of us who start out with little or no following.. It's hard.
Even with around 2000 followers I still oftentimes don't get as much feedback as I'd expect or want. And I'm definitely not making the kin dof money other people are on here who have whales helping them and such, yet.. I see something deeper here. And I think this platform not only has long term potential.. That it may replace some of those big sites out there right now.
I guess the people who wanna just blog for free can go to Reddit or Facebook and those of us who want money and to not be censored can come here. I know which one I would pick!
Steemit is by far the best social media out there in my opinion. If you wanna throw the baby out with the bath water because you didn't get enough people arguing with you.. I dunno what to say.
I think that's actually a good thing as I mentioned before, people are a lot more constructive when they aren't bickering and fighting all the time, instead of going around being assholes and destroying, people are learning to build and create more. I think that's awesome.
I disagree. But I'm going to bed now, so I'll explain tomorrow.
This would be the perfect time for that Monty Python sketch where the guy pays for an argument.
I'm sure everyone handles it differently, but personally it's helped me. I used to be really bad at engaging others online, partly because I was fighting depression, figured most didn't want to hear from me, and all the trolls out there had left me feeling like I'd just get attacked if I expressed me opinion.
After joining Steemit, I pushed my self to engage people more, admittedly to try to gain revenue, but it had a different effect on me. It helped me realize that most of the issues was my own mindset, and that I was the only one holding myself back.
Now I've even found that I am engaging people more on all social platforms despite not being paid for it, and i have seen a growth in my following across the board because of this.
As for the fakers, I think they are screwing themselves over more than anyone else. I've been a faker before, you feel like your behind a mask, and no one likes you for who you are, only who you pretend to be. These people need to most help, but no one can reach them until they want to change. But hopefully communities like Steemit can continue to create an environment that encourages people to care about how they act online, not to just hide behind anonymity, acting like nothing they say matters, so they think trolling is just fun. Worse yet, when they think they need to troll because everyone cares too much, but i have yet to see one if those here in Steemit.
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