In this RSA animate, Evengy Morozov questions the ability of the Internet to increase political activism. Quoting examples of the Soviet Union, Britain, North Korea and Saudi Arabia, he says “most of what young people do online revolves around them communicating to each other or downloading entertainment… it’s not clear how they will advance this level of actually being politically active.”
Morozov encourages people to observe Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. According to Maslow’s theory, human motivation can be mapped as a pyramid. At the very bottom are fundamental, basic human needs. At the top are needs for achieving one’s full potential.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Questions to consider:
- Why does Morozov suggest a psycological theory be applied to the Internet?
- Does everyone seem to be using similar communications devices?
- If there was an “Internet culture”, what would this culture look like?