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Offer, counter-offer, counter-counter-offer - and waiting. 

That is where we are at currently in the cycle of *trying* to get a house for the family. I really hope we get it, because while a mountain of work and expense will follow, I already have visions of what it could become. My in-laws are having dreams too - *our daughter will fall down the stairs, I will burnout and my wife and I will divorce.* As if these things can't happen if we don't get the house - although I back myself to not burnout. There can always be extenuating circumstances, so never say never.

![OI000136 1.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/tarazkp/Ym4nbx0S-OI000136201.jpg)

But, making excuses doesn't really get anyone very far and even if they are excused one time, eventually it will require a second, third and finally, trust is lost. Trust is *very important,* even in a trustless network like Steem. The people I find who are the most untrustworthy in regards to their words are those who are addicts of some kind, alcoholics, drug addicts, gamblers. What can be trusted is that they rarely surprise  in their behavior as, the object of addiction always wins. 

But, there are other addictions as well and likely all of them are largely driven by various types of psychological and emotional weakness, over something physiological. The thing with addiction is that it is generally a process of addition, more drink, more high, more money, more drama. Yes, there are drama addicts and often they are the attention seekers searching for their next hit of socially obtained dopamine. Drama is essentially the low-hanging fruit of the attention seeker and with so many voyeurs online, there are always some people watching and willing to engage. 

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><center>I'm Mr Attentionseeks, look at me!</center>

<center>![meeseeks.gif](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/tarazkp/22XDVkCs-meeseeks.gif)</center>

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But, attention seekers like other addicts can be trusted to look for attention, which online generally isn't by being the best at something, it is about being the loudest, angriest and often the most obnoxious - Unless a pretty 20 something, then it requires more selfies. 

This is a process that continually ramps up as to get attention one has to outdo another, and unlike a sport where it is about actually being better, social media attention is generally about being the worst. Not hat it matters as pretty much, they are never going to hold the public 's attention for very long before being replaced with the next in the very long line of contenders for their 15 kilobytes of fame. They might get louder for a while, but eventually they will fall silent as once the spotlight turns, it isn't coming back. They will just end up much like the crazy person screaming at passerbys on the street corner. 

We all make our choices though and many will lean toward the quick result than the foundation building, the immediate feedback loop rather than playing the long game. These are life decisions and often those of us who are hedonists end up the unhappiest as eventually, the pleasure one is seeking is no longer within reach, and the avoidance of suffering no longer possible. They eventually become manipulative over others to get what they want, which means reliant on others for their own satisfaction and eventually, they lose trust and then, they are alone. 

Aloneness - A new kind of suffering in a world of "social media" and the attention economy. What happens to the experience of the attention seeker who cannot garner attention? I am guessing it is not a great feeling, which is likely why the hedonists often become the sadists, *taking pleasure* in trying to inflict pain on others. They also often think that they are better at it than they truly are and read the lack of response as them actually hitting a nerve. They found their audience and someone who always agrees with them - themselves. Which is likely why attention seeking behavior often comes coupled with narcissism. 

I wonder if we could chart individual minds over the space of their entire internet experience, how many have an improved experience on the internet, and how many have degraded. How many felt empowered and bold only to become lonely and depressed. It would be interesting and considering Facebook algorithms can detect depression through status updates with some degree of success, I wonder what would happen if all of the data online was trawled and trends found. How quickly could we identify personalities and their probable trajectory under various conditions? I would predict that relatively soon if not already, it won't be too difficult. 

Data is the treasure trove of the internet and and while it is only in the hands of a few now, eventually it is going to open up and all kinds of highly interesting insights will be made. While this is pretty scary from a dystopic perspective, it is also very interesting from a behavioral viewpoint and could potentially release information that helps all of us better negotiate this very peculiar world we have created, one where we all have a platform to speak to millions. 

Well, the potential to speak to millions, as most of what is said will fall on deaf ears. 

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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<center>[![Onboarding](https://i.imgur.com/e6A1MiM.png)](https://steemonboarding.com/)</center>