I recently went on a road trip to visit family back in my home state. While I was there, I had multiple conversations with friends & family members about the crypto world & my thought on it's future. This isn't a topic I normally just talk about but since I was “catching up” with everyone about what I've been up to, it just ended up in most conversations.
A little side note on my audience:
Everyone is hard workers & are busy with their everyday life. The lifestyle for many of them are working the 9-5, 5 days a week if not more. Some of them are content with their lives but others put off this vibe & appearance that they could be happier in life. Everyone is different & to each their own but I tend to always want to help.
Getting back to the point.
As I'm having these conversations about the trading I've been doing & other investments around the crypto world, I usually get looks & reactions as if I'm crazy or doing something shady. Some of this is simply lack of understanding. I also talked about #Steemit, since many of them are involved with social media on a daily basis & I explain the potential it has & how beneficial it would be for them. During this entire time, I made sure to keep it as simple as possible & in terms they could understand.
Usually at a certain point in our conversation they would seem interested & ask some questions. I was straight forward & explained all the necessary details & highlighted the risks. I wasn't suggesting to anyone to trade, I simply was explaining what I'm doing for a “side job”. I did however mention that if they had any free time while winding down for the day, to do a little research about bitcoin & cryptocurrencies in general. Most people watch the regulated news on a daily basis so why not be informed of news outside of this medium.
There came a point in almost every encounter where I felt like I was talking to a wall. Sometimes I found myself going to in depth & would back up a little. Other times I got the impression that no one believed me or thought it was too complicated. It was slightly frustrating when I could show them the proof of either earnings while trading or simple growth of the crypto market in general & even after that, they didn't believe or trust in what I had to say.
None the less, I felt like I wasted both of our time & they had a questionable understanding of how I was making money. Because most of them were family & close friends, I care what they think when it comes to what I'm doing with my life...to an extent. This was bothersome since most of them didn't have the slightest clue about cryptocurrencies or bitcoin. At a certain point I realized our differences & yet disappointed I didn't get the engagement that I was hoping for, I accepted the fact that I attempted to make them aware but they really didn't want to explore out of the ordinary.
On my 1,600+ mile drive back home, I had plenty of time to think about it & reflect on my time with my family. Overall, I had a great time & got to “catch up” with everyone. Crypto talk wasn't the focus of the trip by any means. I started to think about how many years have gone by since I moved out of state & all the things I got to do & explore. I realized that going back to my home state was a little depressing since everyone seems caught up in this “working life” that was filled with debt & very little time for themselves.
Like I stated earlier, everyone lives their lives differently & we all find our happiness in different ways but as someone that has seen improvements in my own life due to the crypto world & simply just wanting to help, it's a bit disheartening to see the ones closest to me miss out or overlook a great opportunity that could change their lives for the better.
Okay, so what's my point of this all?
Now that I'm back home & ready to continue my life here, I find myself wanting to zip my lips shut to everyone about the crypto world & just chug along in my own world. I'm not saying I'm going to be a hermit & not socialize but instead avoid the whole topic of cryptocurrencies with everyone outside of the few online groups I'm involved with.
It's a passion of mine so it's hard to not want to talk about it. It's also difficult to have conversations with people (depending on the topic) when there's no value to the conversation. It's also getting a little old that some of my closest friends look at me like I'm being shady with being into the crypto world & bash the idea & make all to familiar uneducated comments of how the crypto world works.
So this brings me to my ultimate question(s):
Is it pointless to try to help people understand crypto? Am I potentially setting them up for failure in the event they decide to venture into the crypto world but do not take the time to understand it? Do we (as a crypto community) want to introduce just anyone to it? Or are there reasons to keep this on a slow and steady growth? I don't mean to sounds selfish or what have you but could un-knowledgeable people effect the scene/markets negatively?
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic. Has anyone else found themselves in a similar situation? Am I completely in the wrong for my approach or thoughts about all of this?