Open AccessE-motivity: the social impact of the Internet as a limbic system
Author(s) -
Derrick de Kerckhove
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
matrizes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1982-8160
pISSN - 1982-2073
DOI - 10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v9i1p53-65
Subject(s) - immediacy , the internet , action (physics) , argument (complex analysis) , transparency (behavior) , political science , social psychology , sociology , political economy , psychology , epistemology , law , computer science , philosophy , world wide web , biochemistry , physics , chemistry , quantum mechanics
The article metaphorically uses the human limbic system to describe the new system of social interaction created by social networks, exploring the conditions involved in the creation and development of emotions on the Internet, in such a way as to reveal the relation between technology and psychology. In defence of the argument that the immediacy of social media favours reactions to public events, it presents examples such as the individual responses to the financial global crisis and the demand for more transparency in the governments and financial institutions, in cases like WikiLeaks and the Arab Spring. It concludes that the Internet allows individuals to extend their action, that now have a global reach, with possible effects upon citizenship.