I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're definitely onto something with ownership. There is a sense of fulfillment when you feel you have something that is yours and with the economy going the way it is, you're quite right in that fewer and fewer will be able to call much their own.
When it comes to things like Facebook and YouTube, they're proving that nothing that people have built up belongs to themselves when the site owners can shut it down at will. You're very much beholden to them. Here, I get to see my account and the work I've put in grow and evolve and even if I upset someone big, they can't just take it off me.
Currently I'm powering up more because it wouldn't be worth cashing anything out at this point (despite the fact we could use some extra income right now). It is, however, absolutely worth powering up. I've seen plenty of people regret having powered down (or they should have regretted it) back in the beginning when Steem was low, just to keep cashing out. These are accounts which could have had hundreds of thousands in Steem and supported themselves with an upvote a day instead of complaining they no longer earn enough and leaving.
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And once there is even a trickle of income from them, there is almost no way to ever leave.
It makes a difference doesn't it?
I have seen this too and I am hoping that those who have bought in will see a significant price rise so that they can feel what it is like to both earn well enough and distribute to others real value. It feels good to be able to actually reward something that helps.