Plenty of us do consider that time spent to be money spent. The time I've put into this could have been used working a second job, and that job would have paid a lot more.
No consumers is a huge problem. The main problem, actually. The bots are both a blessing and a curse. It's too bad they wouldn't be interested in finding a balance. As in listen to what we have to say, and work towards making good for both sides.
The trending page content can be a burden and does chase people away. I'm on the trending page. I'm typically trying to produce entertainment. Sometimes I think people aren't looking at my work because of what's around it. I feel other legit content producers deal with the same problem. I'm well aware of things that could hurt my progress, like over exposure, so I make damn sure I don't have two or three posts sitting in the upper slots at the same time. Others don't seem to realize that overexposure harms their brand. Makes everyone appear selfish in a way.
I know it's frustrating. You know though, a lot more folks would be successful if the consumer driven business model was in full effect. Again, that's the main problem. Actual consumers. Not actual automated votes. Unfortunately people get lured into that maximizing mentality and all that does is cause problems.