Okay this is my view, and it's pretty depressing, so if you don't want to, don't read it.

I just want to start off by saying I am in no way bashing the writers for having their opinions. But as someone who has absolutely no power over what happens in the show, I think I'm allowed to express my frustrations if I don't agree with the direction they're taking it. I'm such a big fan of the series...so the more things don't go my way, the more upsetting it is.
I've noticed a few people criticizing me because I don't believe that DE are going to be endgame. I'm going to be explain why I think that way.
Believe me, I have never been so invested in a pairing in my life before. I truly believe Damon&Elena belong together and they idea of them ending up with other people is ridiculous to me. Having said that, it's not going to matter to the writers and producers what the majority of the fans want, especially if they're in denial about what the majority is. When talking about how so many fans want DE, the excuse for that they came up with is that the internet does not represent the entire audience, and what people want here isn't necessarily what the entire viewing audience wants. While that's an understandable argument, you have to look at the numbers you have and think what makes sense. It's not like the fanbase is split 55% to 45% where you can say if there were more people it could be the other way around with SE being ahead. There is a huge difference between the number of DE fans vs. SE fans. So if anything, that difference is smaller, not that the fandom actually prefers SE. So I think that's being used to overlook what the fans actually want.
Now on to my second point...I want you guys to read what the writers and producers actually say in interviews. Whether it'd be from season 1, season 2, DVD commentary or anything else.

"bottom line is that Elena and Stefan are the true epic love story of the show but Damon is the third point of the triangle"

this quote really says it all. people say it doesn't matter because this was said in season 1, but she didn't say that was the premise for season 1, she said it was for the show. a point which will be basically repeated in her most recent interview which I will talk about as well.

"This show is always going to be about Stefan and Elena. It has to be. They're soulmates."

uh huh.

"For the pilot and the tv series to work the relationship between Stefan & Elena had to be magic"

while 0 was mentioned about any connection that had to be present between Damon & Elena...why? because their relationship is not going to be the big storyline of the series.

"there is real chemistry between Paul Wesley & Nina Dobrev"
a lot of us beg to differ(at least when they're playing Stefan&Elena)

"Q: Some fans have to know: Will Elena and Damon EVER get together?
A:If at any point in the life of this series, that could go on forever and ever, I think that if we didn’t go down that road eventually, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs right. But, I would never say when or how or to what end. I can only say that it’s a show predicated on a girl coming back to life and her development of love for one brother who then, because of who she is, changes the life of the other brother and that’s our show. There are roads we can go down with that in the future, for sure, so stay tuned."

Let me translate this for you...
"This show has been advertised from the start to promote a triangle, so we eventually have to do it. "when or how or to what end" means we can keep the fans coming back in the hopes that DE are going to get together, but when it happens we can make it last a few episodes and before we know it, Elena could be back in Stefan's arms begging for forgiveness and him taking her back to further prove how epicly epic this couple is.
The show is about her "love of one brother" meaning Stefan&Elena and how Elena helps Damon in his journey to gain back his humanity. So keep watching because we will eventually give you DE, even if it doesn't ever last"

Okay so maybe I'm overreacting a little to that but it doesn't change how I feel about that interview or any of the other ones. It's very clear to me that the writers want SE, so
when talking about endgame, after which there is no more ratings and such to worry about, the writers are going to end the show how they want to....with SE, just like how they've not-so-subtly been telling us.

People ask me why ship DE if I don't think they're going to be endgame. Well, for one, it's better to prepare yourself for the worst...I can imagine being all excited about DE being endgame and then having it get crushed as I watch Stefan&Elena kiss at the end of series finale. The other reason is, just because the writers keep trying to shove SE down our throats doesn't mean we should take it. I have my own mind and if I think Damon&Elena should end up together then that's the couple I will support. Because in my mind, the writers are the wrong ones here who can't recognize what they've succeeded and failed in, when creating these relationships. Every DE scene is more interesting, more chemistry-filled and gives more story to work with for the plot of the show. I have every reason to ship them and have every reason to believe they should be endgame, but I can't control what the writers do so I choose to be realistic about the situation and accept the fact that they most likely won't be together in the end.