5 Levels of Need

In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs he explains that all humans have needs that exist on a hierarchy. He stated that when lower level needs are met in the life of a human they tend to focus on meeting their upper needs.

I will list the 5 levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and explain how they relate to me in my digital experience :

Physiological needs: This level of need is related to food, water, warmth and rest – They relate to me in the sense that I do my best work while working with or on computers when these needs are met. When I am not hungry, thirsty, cold, or tired while sitting at a computer to get work done, I do a better job getting the work done.

Need for safety: The level of need is related to security and safety – When i’m using online services such as apple pay, and purchasing items on various website, I purchase with confidence when I know the website is a reputable one and has ample security measures in place to protect my data. However, I shy away from websites that look suspicious or are not popularly known websites because the chances of such websites not having ample security to protect my data is very high.

Need for belongingness and love: This level of need is related to intimate relationships, and friends – Knowing that I have friends that post on social media frequently is the reason a check my Instagram more often to see what my friends and family members I follow are posting and sharing with me.

Need for esteem: This need is related to prestige and feeling of accomplishment – Whenever i post something whether a video, picture or quote on a social media platform and I receive likes and positive comments it makes me feel accomplished, knowing that others are in favor of my posts. Secondly I feel accomplished whenever I can figure out new technology and use it the way it was intended to be used to make doing certain things a bit easier. Such as connecting with family that live abroad via WhatsApp.

Need for self – actualization: This need is related to achieving our full potential including creative activities – Self – actualization occurred for me when I started working as an analyst at a company and had to figure out the system they were using to provide their clients services and being able to use it in an efficient manner and understanding how to use the system to help and provide services for clients.