Reviewing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and thinking about how  I can relate to an experience I have had with technology is something that is a long history, since I’ve grown up with technology but more on a internet social network rather than the classic social media inclusion people often feel they miss out on by watching people online and feeling that they are excluded. Starting with the “basic needs” and Physiological needs as the first one, there was a time when I was a kid that being able to come home from school and play online with friends was my main attraction. I didn’t have many distractions besides school but a factor was also that I was overseas and all my friends from school lived on other military bases so that was the only way to “hangout” for the most part. But at this time being grounded and having my console taking away as punishment was like losing something like water, I would feel like I was missing something. As I got older all of that faded away as more interest and hobbies became available. For the second need which is safety needs(cyber security) in the “basic needs” category there hasn’t been a time were my device/console has had a virus but there has been a time were a account that I used to play games was hacked and the person who had hacked had changed all the information. The account did have money invested into since It was a game I played most the time and enjoyed. I did contact support for it and was able to get back into since I did have a warning of unauthorized access to the account. But that definitely made me up my protection on all my account and activating another form of authentication.

            For the next set of needs, these are described as the “Psychological needs” and those are “Belongingness and love needs” and “Esteem needs”. Starting with “Belongingness and love needs” as a teenager and social media I was definitely trying to get as many people to follow me on whatever platform was being used the most by people around me. It did make me feel “popular” but outside of a few people, most that I followed and that followed me back weren’t people I talked to much or at all. But that’s also a two-parter because the more people that followed me did boost my self-esteem. It made me feel known but as the realization came with time that most of the people were people that I wouldn’t really keep In touch with just due to moving or not keeping in touch it did impact me in that once that realization came to I just got sad about it.

            The last need is labeled “Self-fulfillment” or “Self-actualization” and that is something that not something to me that is reached and then it’s a done process. To me now, this is something like my degree and my field of study. This is something I would like to be a “expert” in, or at least the best I can be with what I can do.