Could the Steem Blockchain Help Resolve the Flaws Within Our Global Societal Model?

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a Steemian-meetup in Kensington, London. It was cool chilling out with like-minded people and discovering more about their interests and passions in life. And all originating through the commonality of being bloggers on Steemit. It certainly got me thinking about the bigger picture and the underlying opportunities on offer here. It seems to me that technology and it’s ever-reaching advancements, have come full circle. Let me elaborate.

---

The isolating effects of app-based social media. Funny how that statement appears to contradict itself by definition. But it’s a current and prevalent concern with parents, couples and amongst friendship circles alike. The easy catch-up by quickly checking up on the status of a close friend. We all should be quite familiar with this “one-sided” form of present-day social interaction, which has taken the world by storm. After all, why muddle one of the most convenient ways to socially interact with one another by adding the unnecessary “physical” element into the mix? You see it on a daily basis, especially in London. Commuters packed into buses or trains, heads buried in their phones and scanning through all the latest gossip on their peers. I feel that nobody has time to arrange actual person-to-person hook-ups anymore. Or is it a case of, we don’t “make” the time? Well, why should we? I believe apps like Facebook or Instagram have, inadvertently, imprisoned the world as a whole within it’s own eco-spherical bubble.

But, I believe, the tides will turn once more. Nothing remains status-quo forever and with a platform like Steemit, the inherent communicative advantages there are clearly evident. Because of the very nature of Steemit’s people-based organic growth structure, “geographic” communities are but one of a few very welcome side effects to the platform and it's users. I mean, we don’t even have official implementation of the “communities” feature within Steemit yet, but people have managed to somehow find a way on their own. Using nothing but the tools they have at their disposal, within the platform itself. That is mind-blowing to me. No central authority is responsible for bunching us together based on a specific set of criteria and keeping their fingers crossed that we all get along. The users themselves are taking the initiative with a very direct “hands-on” approach to interaction and getting to know and bond with, other steemians in their own particular region.

But it goes deeper than that still. London is known to be one of the most socially reserved cities in the world. No surprises there, as it’s also one of the most socially restrictive, in terms of time constraints for its inhabitants as well as the challenging demands of corporate hierarchy. Most people I find, happily adhere to the “rat-race” and tend to switch off their natural humanistic instinct to interact with each other (confrontations being the exception, lol). One of the most important aspects of us as a collective, being that we are all genetically programmed to be a “part “ of something. Loneliness is a very real problem for thousands upon thousands of people here. To such an extent that the government are now introducing measures, by setting up social centres and initiatives, where people can attend and simply “talk” to other people who are willing to “listen”. I feel the indirect consequences of being "alone" cannot be underestimated. So, taking Steemit as an prime example and putting the monetary aspect to one side, it could be the catalyst in providing essential communication channels for many across this crowded city. It is now possible for a user on Steemit to not only interact with others from behind a computer screen, but now face-to-face too. The untapped power within that statement, goes way beyond any financial remuneration. The simple act of just “talking” to someone, which most of us take for granted, could be the turning point in someone else’s life.

---

So, yes, I think the world as we know it is on the brink of another global change, in the context of the discussion above. A few decades ago, the communal medium of choice was either the local pub or social gatherings at home. Then came the age of “Facebook”, where the need for physical interaction gradually became an after-thought. I think the next wave of technological evolution is around the corner. And that of the meeting ground between the two. Barriers are being broken down everyday and I, for one, am looking forward to a new era of the evolved “social attention model”.