Youtube also has 'dislikes'. There are a few other forums not worth mentioning that use a downvote system as well.
I believe if platforms like Facebook and Twitter normalized downvotes long ago, there would be far less online social media heat. They can't downvote on Facebook, but the toxic element is still there, with words. Some spend days arguing, for nothing. "Likes" are a form of reward. They move words up and down. In the response section you'll often find trolls. If people think downvotes are toxic, they need to go look at how truly toxic those other places are, then maybe start comparing.
Right, I forgot YouTube. But the difference there again, same with Reddit, is that votes and downvotes are only triggering an emotional response without any real implications. Actually, downvotes on YouTube aren’t that bad as they still help a video to trend. On Steem in comparison, downvotes will help you to not trend and are removing monetary rewards from your posts, which increases the negative energy you get from receiving downvotes even further.
On the other side of the coin, a paid upvote creates those same negative vibes, because they act much like downvotes, ensuring others do not trend and removing potential visibility and potential rewards from others. One downvote creates negative energy for one individual. One paid upvote creates negative energy for many individuals. I'm so glad, for the most part, we can put that all behind us. In reality, today's downvotes aren't creating any more negative energy than what was here in the past, those receiving them are just throwing more tantrums and some retaliate. The folks impacted by the negative consequences of paid votes simply left.