This is a bit of a hard post to write as I am going to discuss some issues here that I don't think have been mentioned before on Steemit, definitely not from a child's perspective, and are somewhat controversial...
I'm 13 years old
I have never told this to anyone on Steemit, only a few trusted people on good old Steemit chat. As you can imagine, it's not exactly something you'd go yelling about on the web. But I believe that now, the time has come, I've accumulated over 100 followers during my month on Steemit so far and I'm finding it hard to keep hiding the truth from the internet. I think that it would be great for everyone to see Steemit and the crypto world through a child's eyes, which is why I wrote this post; to inform people, to discuss and most importantly, to ask you what you think about having people like me on the platform...
My legality and rights in the crypto-space
At the time of writing this post, there are ZERO laws or regulations concerning an age limit for buying or selling cryptos. Sure there are some wallets which have age restrictions, but in this day and age, name me one person who honestly gives a damn. The only relevant regulation for Steemit is that you are 13 years of age or over, which applies to me. So what I am doing is completely legal, and although it is sometimes frowned upon for under 18s to enter the crypto world, there's nothing I'm doing wrong that I could be removed for. I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HERE.
Why and how did I join the crypto world and Steemit?
I first started hearing about BTC and crypto's in late 2016, all the usual nonsense the media talks about, and due to my love of new tech and ambition to learn I checked it out and bought a few pounds worth of BTC. Since then I took a huge break in cryptos and got back into it just about a month ago. This is when I started Steemit, I could not believe this promise to fortune, earning cryptos for blogging!? It was like bread to a starving person, I instantly fell in love with this new platform that could earn me money simply for spending some time doing what I did before on Quora but this time getting paid for my work.
I dreamt of all the things I could get if I could strike gold in this new rush, I would finally be able to have control over some money, not just keep a few £10 notes in the back of my drawer from past birthdays which I could only spend with my parents' permission. Now I had freedom, I had control and most importantly I wouldn't have to beg my parents for money to buy something I wanted or needed. For me, it seemed like a gold rush and a new way.
My invisibility cloak
When I started out on Steemit, I carefully considered a fake identity: 19 year old, attending a London university studying to be a pilot (my dream career). I surfed with these tags for 1 month, understanding how people thought of this and enjoying the social privileges that came with being mature; no "do you even know what you're doing" and "go back to playing Minecraft". I made quite a reputation on Steemit and the official chat and before I knew it I was at 47 rep and a loaded BTC wallet. This new technology that "created money out of nowhere" was working out OK GREAT!
The truth
Precisely a week ago, I came out on Steemit chat. Firstly, to most of @ocd and then more, some people were surprised, some were shocked and some didn't really care. Here are a few quotes (from Steemit Chat):
@emilclaudell well congratulations, you have a lot longer to live than the rest of us here
@tarazkp You should enrol in Kindergarten xD
@acidyo I thought you were at least 40 :D
@erodedthoughts WTF?
@m31 what the f***?!
@beercake Lol, wait what?
As you can see, some very mixed but predictable reactions (apart from @tarazkp, who after years of growth has still not understood the basics of the education system). I felt that I needed to tell people to find out how they would react and I chose to only tell a few in case the reaction was not as welcoming as it has been. I am still making the same money, if not more, and it hasn't really affected my Steemit, so I thought if some of the most experienced members of the community didn't care then anyone else wouldn't either. Despite this revelation, I needed some reassurance that my blog wouldn't collapse, so I did what any rational guy would do, I asked some more people...
The "interviews"
Nope this wasn't some dramatic criminal questionings fueled by Veritaserum, it was just one question which I asked 2 people. These were the responses to "Do you agree to letting a child on Steemit and what are your views?" Thank you very much @tarazkp and @futurethinker for answering the question:
@tarazkp As long as the child doesn't do anything stupid like spamming and bringing a hoard of friends, I'm fine. If the child is able to create decent content and not just waste bandwidth, then no objection from me.
@futurethinker My viewpoint is pretty much the same as Taraz's. Steemit can help children with their writing skills whilst also providing a good education on how money works and cryptocurrencies. So long as the child doesn't do anything stupid then that's great :).
These responses settled it, I was ready to write this post.
The present
There, now that's done, I can feel the weight coming off my chest, It's not easy announcing something like that! I'm a 13 year old studying in school and enjoying hockey, basketball, the trumpet and piano. A pretty average life if you ask me, and I'm happy :) I hope that the truth can be accepted by the community and it won't ruin my chances to earn some pocket money, thanks for everyone who has supported me to this moment.
Speaking of support, my dad has very recently joined Steemit and it would be great if you could check him out which I do recommend Elakehal.
Also, thank you again for 100 followers, this is a great milestone and there may be a giveaway coming up so be sure to follow may to not miss it.
Thanks for reading this post, have a nice day and good luck!!
Good post ahmed!
Thank you for the support!
Age is just a number which doesn't necessarily reflect the level of maturity. I know you have a great mind and I trust your judgments . You always make us very proud (y)
Thanks for the thoughtful words dad! I am very happy that I make you proud, but I'll always need parents to guide me with life no matter what my age, thank you for being such a great dad who helps me through life and always makes the right choices <3 <3 !
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