Well considered. There is an element I think ia overlooked. For some the income from Steemit really helps with daily expenses, especially in poorer countries. If your own upvotes provided you enough for a meal, or petrol in your car, why would you not do it? First world countries have the luxury of debating moral issues , where in third world countries there is more of a focus on survival.
That being said. Being solely selfish will not benefit you on Steemit at all. You need to interact and allow people to feel your presence, in order to both gain and provide popularity.
As wirh everything this is not a black and white issue, but is influenced by factors such as need and generousity, financial circumstances, strategy, and even by how much your upvote is worth.
And....lastly, there is significantly less voting activity on Steemit since HF19, so we sometimes need oue own votes!
That's an important point, one I attempted to touch on in my post. Many here (including me) are privileged, for sure. That's why, before we vilify someone, we should better understand their motivations for upvoting themselves.