Social media is primarily about the social experience of users. They don't need money to interact. The money is the big bonus.

Agree with the bonus part, in fact it's something I have suggested in some forum talks: advertise STEEM as a censorship-resistant social media platform (the time is perfect given the current Youtube, Assbook and Shitter censorships), with a small print that people can get rewarded for their blogging activities. When people saw there was MONEY to be made they lost their mind, which caused a flood of scammers, spammers and shitposts. Not only from small users, but from many whales themselves who pretend to care but in reality don't give a shit. Their behavior is a testament to their hypocrisy.

I would love to see STEEM grow with massive onboarding, but before focusing on the latter, people with highest impact (whales) need to shift their mindset, because after all, it's their stake too on the line, if they keep trashing it, it will keep losing value.