I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" type of person for Steemit. @Ned has a vision of the Steem blockchain becoming the base of the future of the internet. If that doesn't happen, something that does things bigger and better than Steem will. Ultimately, blockchain and decentralization is the future.
That being said, I think Steemit itself is a terrible platform for the average person. Using Reddit gives me diabetes, and I think it's safe to say that most people want to have brief engagements with many people, rather than write stories about their life with just a few. This would explain how Facebook gained so many users. I think Busy is a much more user-friendly option and I think the other apps all have something different to offer.
In all fairness to your friends, Steemit sells itself on the ability to make money here. And even though it also sells itself as a place free from censorship, ask any of the friends I started with that got pummeled into the ground by speaking against whales if they still think that's true haha. So really both of the things that are supposed to make it stand out from just your run of the mill social media aren't looking so hot when you really run the Steem blockchain through a fine tooth comb.
A.) Making money on here is crazy hard for the most part.
B.) It's totally censored, it's just, instead of some head hancho at Youtube calling the shots, it's the whales with the most amount of SP. Granted they likely won't mess with you if you don't say anything bad about them, but that's still not the point.
So that puts us in a place where Steemit isn't a whole lot different than most other social networks (like tumblr or Reddit) if you don't consider the money aspect of it. That is what is supposed to make it evolutionary though, and it's the first thing you see on the page that invites people to the website. Sign up, Get Steem. They want you thinking about money before you even get your password. Now if it said, Sign Up, Join our Community, that would be different. They are hocking this as a place where you can come to earn a cryptocurrency, so it makes sense that that is what people focus on.
The last thing I wanted to say is that, not everyone is just money hungry. Frankly, I think it's quite a privilege to not have to worry about money, or rather think about money. I think about money all the time, because to me, time is money. We haven't reached a point in our lives yet even where my hubs and I can just have hobbies that we don't get paid for. Now, we have chosen these lives, as artists, but it's important that all of the extra things we do bring in some sort of income, or we just don't do them. It's depressing, but it's our reality, and we aren't alone. There is this trope that people "sit for hours on other social media not getting paid" so they should be happy with what they get here. (And I agree that we should all be thankful for what we make on here) buy my point is that I really don't know anyone who sits all day on social media. Not millennials anyway. I see a lot of boomers sitting all day on social media, posting political rants and playing fake slot games. What I see of my millennial friends is them taking just a moment to post a status update or share a funny meme on one of their breaks at one of their multiple jobs. This speaks volumes to me about how millennials are using their time and it blows out of the water, this idea that they were somehow wasting it before, haha. It's maybe even a little insulting.
Anyway, Loooong explanation to an easy, but still somewhat complex question. I think that your friends ask about the money they can make because their time is money, and most people our age don't have that time to spare without being compensated for it!
Well written and thorough response Beth! Getting different views on this subject is exactly what I was hoping for with this post.
I have just worried that these people will either be eaten alive on here or will get quickly discouraged with a singular focus.
You bring up a really important point though that time is money - and it’s only fair they ask those questions.
Thanks for the perspective!! I can always count on you to have an opinion! Hahaha