Steem is not an addiction, except for these past few days with the price a little above $0.30, which has me checking if it is going lower so that I can buy more. Although not an addiction, it does seem to take up a great deal of time when I do come around to it.
I think part of the allure since joining a couple of months ago is that it is like playing a game. One feels compelled to check the score constantly. What is bad about this is that my experience becomes less about sharing and more about scoring. Consequently, I have kept away from blogging and have focused on doing the things I would do elsewhere, like post videos, podcasts, and photos. Those I do without thought of earning STEEM because I enjoy doing those things. I enjoy writing too. However, it is very time consuming for me.
I have a similar attraction to Minds, which also awards tokens for interaction. However, their rewards are a flat structure. Everybody gets the same awards for being interesting. The content seems less focused on Minds itself. People mostly talk about other things besides crypto and how to gain more tokens. The tokens are only redeemable for buying views and for rewarding others, although some have found ways to exchange them. Minds is less addictive because there is no running tally of each post's earnings.
Steem is changing my life because it has led me to discover new technology and a new way of thinking about social networks. I haven't been so excited about tech in ages. Thanks to Steem, I have discovered IPFS and other decentralized projects.