"The only example that I know of, where downvotes exist is Reddit. However, on reddit you're only "losing" visibility & possible karma, which in comparison to the real currency STEEM is more than worthless."
I could argue the exact opposite.
Combined desktop and mobile visits to Reddit.com from February 2018 to July 2019 (in millions):
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/443332/reddit-monthly-visitors/
Im not saying that visibility isn’t valuable, hence the downvotes on reddit do have a negative emotional consequence. However, add to that the ability to prevent someone from earning real money and you’ve got yourself an extra big bad emotion.
I know. I just wanted to add this to the discussion.
Thesis: downvotes will put you in a bad mood, no matter if there's real money involved or not. People are just as angry/sad about small downvotes as about large downvotes. Thats how we are, we are emotional.