Why Steemit is No Different from High School
Do you remember how you felt after graduating from elementary school, and getting ready to head into high school? You may have been apprehensive, but hopeful you would do well, make some friends in addition to keeping the ones from elementary.
Heck you may even pray to be part of the popular crowd and pray harder that you don't become the outcast that everyone avoids and bullies.
In other words, you likely were hoping to succeed in all aspects of your school career. But hey not everyone is fortunate to do all that well. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be liked and sadly, yes you will end up as that outcast that you dreaded to become.
In fact you may have fallen in with a group of friends. But that group of friends started shutting you out for whatever reason and they became that clique which you hear a lot of that happens in high school.
Well guess what. The same is happening right here on Steemit. This platform is really meant for everyone to have an opportunity to become successful. Just like any school that you attend provides the same.
However, just like in high school, you may be initially falling in with a group of friends. In other words these Steemit groups on Discord or Facebook are there for those who want to do well and the purpose of them is to help you out.
That is fine and all if the help is legitimate (which it rarely is) but if you do one little thing wrong, or one little thing that they don't like, you are outta there! Even if you don't do anything wrong, they can decide to kick you out just like that because you simply aren't "cool" enough. The clique that was formed no longer wants a thing to do with you. In fact they may tell others to stay away from you.
The sad thing is this kind of shit is happening right here. Steemit is full of cliquey self righteous users whose egos are expanding as their reputation numbers do.
Just like these "popular high schoolers" who aim to be cool, these egotistical users are gaming the system. In other words neither of their tactics are genuine (oh you know lots of them are using bots and creating sock puppets to up their numbers so they "look" more cool).
I was an outcast in high school and I saw how fake and phoney the popular kids were back then. It's no different here now.
That said I'm laying low until some huge changes happen which just may never. It's not Steemit's fault, it's the fact that so many users lack integrity and will throw you under the bus whenever an opportunity for them to climb to the top comes up. I never wanted to relive my high school days. However I suppose I have been for the last several months while I was here. How disappointing. Oh and I can't wait for a self righteous jerk to call me a Negative Nancy. No no. I'm flat out telling you how it is!
When I was in high school, I didn't bother with the 'in' crowd. In fact, I hooked up with the outcasts. I later learned that we (the outcasts) were considered the 'cool' kids. What Steemit needs is a group where the outcasts gather, where we can be our bad-assed selves, radiate negativity, and cut through the bull. Discord groups don't give much back unless you stroke the egos of certain key members and toe the party line. Unfortunately there is something to be said about safety in groups, since if you've got a lower rep, you have to be VERY careful not to attract a high-ranking hater who down-votes your account into oblivion. For this reason, I am currently waiting until my rep is higher than 60 to write some of the stuff I really want to.
You have a point but I am in a place where I couldn't care less haha.
I think it's far better to have integrity and stay true to yourself than join one of the Discord groups. They seem uber fake from what I've seen.
That is the impression I have gotten as well. Thanks for the comment.
nice post .. @jero1
A lot of what you say is true, I've always been of the opinion that bots do not bring real value to the Steemit community and help to make the place less social. The rise of off platform chat is reducing the social aspect. Most comments are either from bots or newbies just trying to get a follow or upvote. I'd say it's now less than 10% genuine comments and thoughtful input.
Exactly and since it's becoming this way it's going to crumble and it seems to be a place for egotistical maniacs to continue on with their high school like tactics too.
I feel you my friend. There are a lot of cliques on here. I ran into one in my first month here. Was involved in it. Left, formed my own group with no expectation From users except no begging for upvotes, or follows, be authentic. Which you know about! Thanks for featuring our banner in your post. People don't seem to realize the effects their behavior has online, as they hide behind a screen. I value you as a Steemian. I hope You can ride it out and stick around. I Really don't feel all of steemit is like that. Staying Away from the groups and doing steemit for your own benefit is key. It has overall been very helpful for my mental health actually. Much my friend
What is a sock puppet?
Sad that you encountering this. Hope you find your supportive tribe. I do think they are out there. So far, I have met mostly nice and supportive people on this platform.
@mariannewest a sock puppet account is a fake account created by a user to make it appear that the user is getting support and upvotes. The user uses the sock puppet account for this purpose to make him or her appear that he or she is popular. It's happening way too much here and I'm glad you have had good experiences here.
Thank you for the explanation. Don't you think people will get tired of operating so many accounts? Maybe it is just that I am a hopeful person. but I really think people who create real relationships - even on social media - will win at the end. Let's hope so at least :)
@chelsea88 thanks for your support it means a lot and glad your experiences have been for the most part positive.
I think you are spot on. I haven't had it happen to me, but I have seen a couple of my favorite Steemians get raked over the coals by other whales for no reason. You are right, it's all no different than the silly high school drama my kids bring home. I was hoping to get away from all of that hete, but it's happening more and more. It's part of the reason why I don't post as much as I did when I first joined. But I am trying to find my own path now. Quality over quantity as it were. 😊
Thanks for sharing this @tabzjones and sadly this is just like high school and I haven't been as active here for this reason either. I think you nailed it! Finding your own path is the way to go! Best of luck to you for finding it! 😊
Thanks for your brave words, @miriamslozberg. I can see where you're coming from. But the good news is, we don't have to rely on the "cool kids" to progress on steemit, to share some awesome thoughts, to have some fun and the make the most out of it. Let's join the punks, the nerds, the weird kids, etc. There is way more of us than the cool kids anyway, even if we may not yell all that loud.
Thanks @stortebeker for chiming in. Sadly it's not a matter of relying on the "cool kids" anymore. It's a matter of this platform losing integrity because of them polluting it. That's how it seems to me. Too much insincerity around.
This is really a great content, quality and originality belong to it. For this Steemit Community Quality Support is happy support your work, so it was chosen to be upvote! Thank you for sharing, keep it up!
Thank you