It is not easy to get merit because here people are more focused on writing, majority of forum does not even read what others write. It is understandable as people try to post for bounties...
Between the 24/01/2018 (Merit System kick-off) and the 27/04/2018 (last sMerit Data update) these are the overall sMerit awarded in the Forum:
Total sMerits awarded: 140.662
Total Number of Transactions: 62.483
Total distinct Nº Users that sent sMerit: 13.116
Total distinct Nº Users that received sMerit: 14.500
So, in summary, 14.500 have set some time aside to sMerit 13.116 users so far.
I personally try to set aside sometime if not every day, every few days, to award sMerit. Its not always easy to find posts though that you are willing to award it to. It depends on many personal factors, the standards that one sets, and the forum section where one looks around.
One frustrating fact Ive come across is that the lower the rank, the more cases of copy/paste that Ive encountered on a post that seemed fit to be rewarded. That eventually takes its toll, since I dont want to be fooled again by rewarding copy/pasters. My time is limited and I don´t want to waste it having to find out if a post is copied from some article and placed to take credit as if written by the poster.
It will not deter my search for awardees, but it will toughen my skin.