Variable Rewards and the Casino-effect: Steemit's emotional roller coaster

Some have likened Steemit to variable reward systems like the casino - and their analysis has been pretty spot-on. The arguments regarding excitement, addiction, etc all seem to be explained by such an analogy and the variable reward system where in one "spin" you get 0 and in another spin you win big.

Differences between Steemit and the Casino

Now, what I think is different in Steemit is the thoughts and emotions that can affect one during a "losing streak" (or a "dry period" of income). In the casino, you generally blame your luck. Some times you may also become a little paranoid thinking that the game is rigged against the player (=you). When you lose your money you may feel like a total idiot. In extreme cases (like losing your savings) you could also contemplate committing suicide - or actually trying it. But in Steemit you are not losing anything - at most you don't get paid and simply lost your time writing an article, not your life savings, so the reactions should obviously be quite milder. Yet on Steemit you feel you have more control about the outcome compared to a totally random spin and thus assume a bigger portion of "blame" when things don't go well.

Negative emotions when things don't turn out very well

The emotions of consistently failing to "score" rewards have been well documented by now by members posting their frustration: You can read (either directly or between the lines) the feelings of unfairness, the questions of self-worth as authors are exposed to external judgement (and that judgement comes against them - everyone is sensitive to rejection), questions on whether they should stop and rage-quit due to the "rejection" felt with 0.00$ payouts, their blaming the whales, the reward system etc, etc. 

Now all things considered, the casino player reactions are when he is actually losing his money. In Steemit the negative reactions are from not winning the money, and yet the emotional roller-coaster of being exposed to the judgment of others and getting zero is a pretty "harsh" experience. 

This is amplified by the false impression that everyone else is getting paid big money but one fails to do so. This triggers what can be superficially be perceived as envy, but in reality it is not envy - it is measuring one's self-worth compared to others and feeling that you may have been ...cheated or dealt an injustice in how you were treated compared to others.

The subtler negative emotions

In my assessment the emotions of "rejection", "low-self-worth", "being cheated", "being unfairly judged" etc are quite deeper, subtler, more complex and insidious. The implications of these feelings are deeper compared to the emotions caused by failure in a casino game. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that for some it may even leave ...emotional scars.

I've come to the conclusion that, at least for those that take their blogging seriously, it will require significant reservoirs of psychological strength to endure the emotional roller-coaster that they got themselves into. I expect that even the best thinkers who believe they can rationalize their emotions, will face serious difficulties if they are hitting consistent 0-payouts and nothing to show for. I'm curious to see how this is going to unfold in the longer run.

Reminder: Don't take things too seriously

In the meantime, authors are advised to remember that the site is still very small and as such not all interests are adequately represented in terms of voters. This could change in the future, when we have a multi-million userbase and different curation methods or curator structure, but for now it is what it is and as such it doesn't really mean anything in term of your self-worth. The same applies for artists and their undervalued art, whether it is drawing, poetry, photography or something else.