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Paper short abstract:

Globalisation destabilises indigenous cultures, from mining in rainforest to the deletion of indigenous identities due to globalising IT impact, although extinguishing these cultures means deleting strategies needed for the survival of humankind.

Paper long abstract:

Globalisation destabilises indigenous cultures. Already the production of electronic devices causes suffering among local populations. The main deposit of coltan, a mineral that is essential for microelectronics, is situated in the Congo basin. To exploit it, vast areas of rainforest, which are home to indigenous peoples, are being destroyed and the locals are recruited as miners under inhumane conditions, although they hardly have any benefit from technology themselves. The principal gadgets used by indigenous peoples are mobile phones, the effects of which on their cultures are quite diverse. On the one hand, technical devices attach the users to the globalised industrial culture; on the other hand, mobile phones enable the users to communicate in their mother tongues, thus sustaining indigenous identities. Other IT branches also have severe impacts on indigenous persons, even if they do not own the appliances themselves: TV, radio, advertisements, and other image-based media provide cognitive input with shaping and globalizing effects, modifying and deleting indigenous identities. Extinguishing indigenous cultures means deleting strategies needed for the survival of humanity. Yet, the industrial culture tries to counteract destabilisations by exerting control and applying even more technology. In indigenous worldviews, nature, including the natural human being, is accepted as it is, while in the industrial culture, nature and the human being are subject to control and sophisticated IT systems.