So from a personal experience, I can say that curation makes people stay on steemit .
Just as I have been on the brink of leaving steemit , frustrated at the lack of engagement, there have been people on steemit who make you feel a part of the community.
On a personal level when I wanted to curate funny content on steemit, @dj123 from #comedyopenmic gave me a generous 500 SP delegation.
It helped me curate people who have raw comedic talent.