You make some great points. People are brainwashed. I just had this conversation with a family member. They couldn't understand that some people make money working online.
Content creation can be a real job. Staking altcoins can be a real job. Gaming on Splinterlands can be a real job. Blogging on HIVE can be a real job.
Combine all these income streams and some people do pretty well. Those are just a few examples.
People were brought up with the 9-5 mentality. On top of that, many people don't realize that when you start working the "Online hustle" where you're working online 24/7 you may be working more than a traditional 9-5 worker.
I hate when people say I don't work a real job. When chances are I'm working more and harder than they do. This brings with it a certain amount of freedom too though.
I've done all kinds of online work. I basically work 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The great thing about this, I work for myself. I take a break when I want. I spend time with friends and family when I want. I can vacation when I want and work from wherever I want. Although the work is hard, the freedom of being my own boss is something I really wouldn't want to change for anything.
yeah, you work more hours with editing, research, etc. However, the income adds up and you see yourself making more than you would on a traditional job. the average American works 40 hours and still needs EBT and other assistance because the pay is too low. Also, the COVID was a major wake-up call that those jobs aren't as safe as we thought. While those jobs vanished, Hive, Steemit, YouTube, Twitch, my WordPress blog all still survived the job purge.
Like you said you can take a break whenever you want. If you go on vacation, you can blog about it here (I did that when I went down south both times)
small world I was trying to get my mom to understand this while you had the same convo with your family member.