I think that the problem is that the vast majority of the people have good innate intentions; however, once the minority starts misbehaving, many initially constructive people turn to destructive behavior too.
That said, when you're a Steemit newcomer (and you're not a celebrity, exotic traveler, photographer, or a similar niche that does really well here) it is very hard to push through without promoting posts with paid upvotes. I do try to provide high-quality, my posts are upvoted by some noticeable Steemians and a couple of my comments were upvoted by @thing-2 and @gentlebot (bots that award meaningful comments), but it would still be a very slow progress without the bid bots.
Cheers! : )
When you are new on Steemit you should just focus on writing quality comments. Since that is the fastest way to grow your following and community. And it shows that you truly care about a specific person. If you pay for upvotes then that will be a way you will live your life. It becomes a lifestyle of laziness and scarcity. Clearly invest in real physical humans is better than a computer bot. Everyone start from 0 on Steemit. Even the so called fame people. Since even their audience won't adopt a new platform in 2 seconds. That is not how the world works.
I agree with you about the importance of writing quality comments for new Steemians - it is the top priority. However, I consider investing in bid bots a different, additional investment. In (quality) comments, you invest yourself, your thoughts, and your time. In bid bots, you (re)invest money earned on Steemit.