"Likes" are so robotic and meaningless but at the same time addictive in the same way as pulling the lever on a slot machine thinking this one last pull could change everything, and it never does. The song Looking for love in all the wrong places comes to mind and when I sing it I realize I have to stop looking for love and start giving it. There are amazing people on Steemit and I have found a home on discord 
@Men0 said this in a broadcast and it really opened my mind.
"You don't need SP to get upvotes"
This simple concept is hard to imagine when in your mind you think people will only engage with you if you have a big upvote and have money to throw at them and it's easy to come to this conclusion if your mind set is based on "self indulgence". He also coined a phrase which I absolutely love
"Be a social entrepreneur"
You mean you can earn upvotes by being social? This is a question that should be in the mind of every Steemian that wants to make money, and let's be real, we all do. Maybe you are thinking in your head, so let me get this straight 
"By being a social entrepreneur I can make money?"
The short answer is yes. This requires a change in mindset that will change your every action and make you forget all about upvotes because you will be so enchanted with the cool people you are meeting and the relationships you are forming with people that can relate... that you will only be thinking about how good it feels and how you can find more time to meet more people and get more of this great feeling.
Now hear me out. It would seem that if you are seen in more places than you won't have to engage anywhere, people will just see your name and follow because you are popular. Anti-social media has proven this to work for a small percentage of the population and maybe this is not working for you. Maybe you are engaging everywhere you go and still don't seem to be making an impression anywhere you been. I feel that in the discord community there is a connection that is hard to find anywhere else, I would say impossible.
Even on Steemit it is very difficult to build relationships because a large percentage of people are only concerned with upvotes and the engagement part is overlooked due to this constant focus, something important is slipping through the cracks and instead of your cup overflowing with quality people it slowly empties because the people you are engaging with only want that upvote, And let's face it, You don't have one. The good need is you don't need one. Commenting is more powerful than an upvote if it is meaningful. Fact. Meaningful comments will build friendships and these friends will want to upvote you, not feeling that need to because you have done something for them because they like you and the content you bring to the platform and they support it. This give and take is what makes the world turn and in these days it's largely overlooked by most of the population.
There are so many exciting things happening before my very eyes....
The list goes on and on and as you move from your comfort zone and get to know more and more people through engaging you begin to form relationships within these communities that will be life changing. I promise this to be true. If you prefer to stick with Anti-social media this is your choice and I respect your decision but I would urge you to just give it a chance. You may be frustrated with the low price of steem and it becoming harder to get upvotes as a result so why not take a break and come join a community of people who can relate but also shine some positivity and your truly dark disposition. What have you got to lose? You can always pick up where you left off if it's not for you. Contempt prior to investigation has ever been helpful to me and likely not for you either.
Thank you so much for reading and supporting me and a special thanks to some great people for showing me the light
@dlive
@dtube
@onelovedtube
@minnowsupport
@ghscollective
@nebulus