Machine steeming is not my cup of tea either. I actually have made a friend IRL via steem, it turns out a steemian lives about a mile from me and we hang out regularly and only briefly discuss steem face to face...

The lack of messaging on chain is possibly to blame as its an extra step to find someone on discord and even as open and direct as I am here I'd never publish my email or phone number.

There's certainly a disconnect that is only accentuated by a lack real time options to communicate. Stories, going live, dms are the staples of p2p interaction online and steem has none of that. Time zone differences are also at play with a global network but I agree it's mostly the pervasive culture of monetization and fear. Not to mention the art of conversation and storytelling are not fostered in this modern gadget driven seclusion many seen to be ok with..

Steem is a peculiar place filled with all kinds of folks from all walks of life that have no inclination to reveal their true nature. It's the age of avatars and filters.. I can sense a genuine human from across the seas and through the posturing..