W6. Why do people contribute to Wikipedia? - Gyongmin Moon, 문경민


Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - RE: Write - Medium

Why do people contribute to Wikipedia? They are not getting paid...


I think the reason why people contribute to Wikipedia even though they are not getting any money from doing so is because of their natural desire.

What I mean by 'natural desire' can be described with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. An organism can survive with sufficient energy generated from food, water, and rest. But we humans desire more than just surviving. After physical needs are acquired we long for safety such as house, fence, or extermination of danger. After that, Maslow describes we need social belonging, that's why we form a society. Later is the needs for esteem, which controls the desire for feeling accomplishment, The final hierarchy of Maslow's pyramid is the need for self-actualization, the feeling of longing to be the best oneself.

Wikipedia gratifies the 3rd and 4th floor of the hierarchy, which is the need for belonging and esteem. By doing Wikipedia people feels the good-faith collaboration of work with each other. And by creating and editing articles, people's desire to have a feeling of accomplishment can be achieved. This is why I think people edit Wikipedia even though they are not getting paid.

Comments

  1. Dayoung Ryu 류다영April 25, 2020 at 7:28 AM

    I like to read this post, because I also thought about the relationship between human desire (Moslow hierarchy) and their actions. It is funny that people do something without paid money to reach their desires, and it is natural.
    I hope I can read another interesting fact related to this topic.

    ReplyDelete

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