Upon reviewing Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I had a few insights and realizations about my own experiences with technology and how it fits into my day-to-day life. I was surprised to realize how much it contributes to my sense of self. Still on the fence whether that’s a good thing, bad thing, or something that just…is.

Maslow’s HoN is broken up into 3 primary segments: Self-fulfillment Needs, Psychological Needs, and Basic needs. These were my personal insights into each category.

The pyramid begins with the largest section Basic Needs, which is broken into two pieces Physiological Needs and Safety Needs. It was not difficult to imagine ways I use technology on the daily regarding my physiological needs. I have access to clean water, and shelter through easy payment portals online, and any food I could ever want is at my fingertips with applications like DoorDash or UberEats, which I shamefully use on the regular. For Safety Needs, I needed to think on this one a bit more. I realized that there are tons of systems in place that keep me safe financially. My credit cards are secured and locked through portals I use online, I have two-factor authorization on all of my financial applications to protect me from identity theft. From a physical safety standpoint, I share my location with my family and partner, so they know where I am at all times. 

Next on the HoN pyramid are our Psychological Needs, this is broken up into Belongingness / Love needs, and Esteem Needs. I am an avid user of social media, things like Facebook and Instagram. When I use these applications I feel closer to friends and family I may not have talked with or visited directly in a while. It gives me a feeling of connectedness. I also enjoy using it as a platform to share photos and experiences from my and my partner’s life. Next on the Psychological Needs would be Esteem Needs and I would say I would shift the size of this bucket a bit larger in my personal pyramid. I am a weight lifter and I take deep pride in the work I have made on my form through the years. Every single day I use an application called Hevy (Which is a social media and fitness/workout tracking app.) Through this application I can track my progress and I feel motivated and proud of myself with the additional support from others like myself boosting us up. It’s a wonderful feeling and it makes me very thankful to have such a good motivator through technology at the palm of my hands on the regular.

Lastly on the HoN Pyramid we have Self Fulfillment Needs, which holds Self Actualization. I am a creative person so this one also fits right in. Through technology I have been able to create an Etsy shop to sell resin dice or paintings I have hand crafted. I can also use applications to support my art like Procreate.

Overall, I think most people fail to realize how many pieces of technology fit into our daily lives and how they impact who we are. I would like to think I would still do these things, still weight lift, and still make art, (still eat obviously hah) but I think there would be less ease in each activity- whether from motivation, or effort needed. Take creating a storefront online, that’s something I most likely never would be able to do without technology. At least without 2000x the amount of effort, time and money. 

I think this Maslow guy might be onto something here.