Is getting from gold to play hard?

So I just got to gold for the first time... and I have been playing for a while. (Yes I am a super noob) I gave you guys my op.gg if you want some info on me. (My Opinion): Plat in general terms is the baseline for your friends to actually think you are decent, but I have heard people say it isn't much better than silver. And while I was in silver 1, I played with several season 5 plats who weren't particularly good, and some also feeding hard. (Probably boosted). So what is the hardest division in gold, and is gold to plat difficult? Like more difficult than bronze to silver or silver to gold? Thanks.