American individualism has become an evolutionary disadvantage.

In case you haven't noticed, America is the me, me, me country.  Just take a look at Trump's tweets.  Sadly they reflect the views of a nation.  And now our selfishness is going to kill millions.

Research shows that American culture places the emphasizes on the me over the we.  Asian cultures do the opposite.  That's why they were able to quarantine a nation for the better good.  No such luck here.  Have you seen the pictures of those uber-selfish spring breakers?  The latest news stories confirm that they are indeed spreading the virus.  But if they aren't getting it themselves why should they care?

Interestingly enough, not all Americans feel this way.  It's only the elite class that teaches their children to focus on personal achievement and individuality.  Working class Americans teach their children solidarity and loyalty.  That's because they rely more on others.  The next time they move - they will do so with help from family and friends.  Affluent Americans will hire a mover. No wonder they don't fully grasp the idea of interdependence.  (Williams, 2018)

But COVID-19 is a global pandemic without a cure, and controlling it will require global cooperation and healthcare for all.

Hopefully the elites will figure it out before it's too late.  As of this morning the death toll is 19,625.  And COVID-19 doesn't care how rich or important you are when it kills you.

Williams, J. (2018, July 9)  The Elites Feed Anti-Immigrant Bias  wsj.com Retrieved March 18, 2020, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-elites-feed-anti-immigrant-bias-1531176949

Who will respond to NASA's Instagram campaign?

Yesterday was National Techies Day.  The reason I know that is because NASA told me. 

I am one of the 37.7 million people who follow NASA on Instagram.  Typically they post one or two beautiful photos from space per day.  They also include a short paragraph about the pic, which fulfills my need for more information.

But apparently they viewed yesterday as a recruitment opportunity, so they took a different approach.  Here are their posts in the order that they appeared.

Clearly they are targeting the techie sub-culture.  So what do you think?   

What messages have they shared?  Which core values will these messages appeal to?  What about motivations?  Do these posts tap into some of the findings from the happiness studies?  Which ones?  How? 

What about Cialdini?  Which principles of persuasion do you see at work here?  Finally, will this campaign be a successful recruitment tool for NASA?  Why or why not?