Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of Steemit and I am very happy to be a part of it.
And there is nothing wrong with the platform. But there might be something wrong with us who use it.
It is the case not just with Steemit, it's the curse one has to bear with every other social media platform.
(Image with CC0 license from Pixabay)
What is it?❔❓
Remember, yesterday?
When you watched a video facebook video titled "What this Dad did for his daughter will make you cry"
...and then another one (which started without your permission) "The cutest proposal ever"
...and then "This Janitor became a millionaire!!"...
Did it not happen?
No? Okay. Maybe you didn't watch a video.
But that stupid facebook friend just posted another politically motivated status.
What an asshole!
No point in arguing with him. But someone must have given him a piece of their mind in the comments.
Someone must have...Let's have a look.
Did that not happen?
Oh, your favorite news reader just gave it back to the liberal-monkeys or to the right-wing-retards.
BURN!! Burn you fu@#%ng illogical mothe$%&%#rs!
Did that happen? Yes?
You didn't even realise and it was well past midnight.
This is the story of our everyday lives on social media.
We spend hours watching useless facebook/ youtube videos and stupid posts that emotionally discharges us of sanity.
But why do we get into the trap?
The Curse of Instant Gratification 👺
It's because of the psychology of Instant Gratification. We need instant emotional gratification- instant revenge, instant love and instant satisfaction.
A degree higher with Steemit 🚀🚩
With Steemit, this psychology reaches another level - INSTANT REWARDS for making posts, IN REAL DOLLARS!!!
Your excitement and blood level increases as you make a post and see it being liked and crossing multiple digit rewards.
It would be great if it happen with every post you create.
Unfortunately, most likely it won’t. 😡
Here's the situation:
Yesterday, your post suddenly garnered a lot of attention and upvotes.
Wow! Finally!!
You don't want to loose out on momentum.
Today, you have spent 3 hours in creating a brilliant article and just posted it on steemit.
Now, how many of you
- find yourself in an anxious state even more than an hour after you have posted?
- find yourself waiting for upvotes and comments?
- look every now and then whether your post made it to the 'Hot' section in your tag?
- post comments on others profile just to get their attention and maybe an upvote?
- If you do not get any votes or views for your hard work, what happens then?
Do you feel low?
If you do, then you must know that Steemit has taken over you. 😞
But… Steemit has benefits as well!
Yes. It is a great platform. I vouch for it.
You spend your time in making and curating posts, you get to read and learn from great content and you get real money for your efforts.
An appropriate use of time, ain't it?
Right, unless you spend more than an hour of your daily time on the platform (excluding writing or creating a piece of art)
How?
Let's discuss the two major benefits of Steemit
1. You get to learn from the awesome posts. But do you actually learn?🔴
Do you ever practice and implement what you learned here? If you don't than you are just wasting your time.
I recently read somewhere, and I absolutely agree, that the best learning comes from PRACTICING what you learned. And it stays with you if you TEACH it to someone else.
So, next time you learn something new here by reading, try learning further by practicing it and then teaching it to a friend (rather than spending another couple of hours learning about 10 new things and forgetting about them by next morning)
2. You earn through curating posts. But what if…
Let's say you spend 2-3 hours daily on the platform. By a simple estimate you are spending 700-1100 hours here yearly.
Let's also assume that for your efforts, you have started earning USD 2000 every month.
Awesome! 🎊🎉🎆
But what if after a couple of years, payment structure at steemit changes or, with the influx of new people, your rewards diminishes? After all, the amount generated is fairly limited.
Or, God forbid, what happens if Steemit ceases to exist!
What would you do then?
Please Please Pleasssseee! Value your Time ⏳
In a recent article, Katrina Onstad mentions the importance of “corralling that precious time for meaningful pursuits—the harder the quest, the more rewarding the bounty.”
The 1000 hours you would spent here, you could utilize in learning to code and become master in one of the languages.
Add the time you’ll spend on watching Facebook and YouTube videos, you could become master in creating a Blockchain itself!
Dan probably would hire you at 10 times the amount you would make by writing or curating posts. 😄
Not interested in coding? Don't learn it.
Learn a different skill, something you like. Something you are passionate about.
Haven't found your passion yet?
I can write another post on how to find a passion but here's the crux - Passion is something that you do regardless of the physical benefits/rewards associated with it.
You go in for the process/journey rather than the final fruit/destination.
How to find it?
Try your hand at different skills; completely unrelated to your field of work, if required.
There will be something you'll find interesting in DOING regardless of the final fruit. Something that will engage you in the ‘state of flow’ very easily.
When you find it, appreciate your life. You are a lucky human.
But you won't do any of this. 😐
Why?
Because again… Instant Gratification.
Our brain looks for the easiest ways to satiate itself.
We know that simple physical exercise for half an hour a day would keep us healthy. It would mean lower long term medical spending and a happy life.
But here we are binging on Netflix with a packet of chips and a beer.
Similarly, making our brain exercise would mean higher learning, lower risk of alzhimers and higher life satisfaction.
Yet, here we are.
As I said initially, there is nothing wrong with the platform. But there might be something wrong with us as a user who spend enormous amount of our valuable time on any of the social media platforms that results in unhealthy habits and lower satisfaction.
I am not sure if my views resonate with everyone here.
I am sure there are contrasting thoughts and beliefs.
Would love to understand your situation and views.
Let us discuss those in the comments, I might get a new perspective on the issue.
Also, this was the first post in the series of blog posts BhagaBlogs. This is my third initiative on Steemit after POND POOP and an Art Experiment. While continuing with those initiatives, I’ll write more articles for BhagaBlogs in the areas of Life, Productivity and Psychology.
Let me know how you find it 😊