Not only then, I believe it's the same today - because even though the situation surrounding the understanding of BTC has changed, most people still don't have a very good idea about it. Even if we all imagined that the video we are talking about was superbly made and could teach everyone about BTC in a simple way, most people would rather do what you did than take an interest in maybe learning something.
Even when I sat in front of the computer for hours every day and learned about BTC, some people said that I was wasting my time while they were watching TV and playing games - which I considered a waste of time. Now I'm online only because I want to, because I've profited from BTC to the extent that I don't have to think about whether I'll have bread on the table tomorrow, while those who played games and watched TV have to work two jobs to survive.
I admire that you made good early decisions despite the criticism and negativity you faced. I understand your perspective because I’ve experienced similar criticism, not just when I was spending time on forums like BTT and joining bounties, but in various pursuits. To avoid the negativity, I stopped sharing what I was doing on my laptop. When someone asked, I would just say I was watching videos or playing games. I remember when my parents questioned the value of joining these campaigns, saying they wouldn’t lead to a career. However, I persevered, participating in article campaigns and starting my career as a content writer. Eventually, I launched my own site and am now happy I didn’t second-guess myself and leave the forum.
We all face criticism, but if we believe we’re doing the right thing, it will eventually bring us success. I agree with you that many people still think, “What, you invested in BTC?”, “BTC is fake,” “It can drop to nothing,” “It’s just a bubble that can pop anytime,” and so on. However, after learning about Bitcoin and reading many whitepapers, I realized that crypto is the future and BTC is at the forefront of it.