By: Sarah Gantner 

CYSE201S Fall 2023

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs separates different parts of emotional growth in people, and as they go through each stage they are motivated to become better and keep growing because of the levels they have already encountered. Each level while unique as a concept, all tie into each other when it comes to personal growth and self realization, which plays a large part in these concepts.

The first level that Maslow covers is the base level, a person’s individual and basic needs when it comes to emotional well-being. These basic needs are physiological and safety. Physiological needs refer to your basic survival needs (food, water, etc.) when these basic needs are met you are able to move through a process of a healthy emotional state. My experience digitally as it applies to these physiological needs would be services such as ordering groceries, or paying for electricity. Digitally I am able to control those needs and allow myself to feel that sense of assurance that allows me to grow. The other base level refers to safety and how someone needs to feel safe in order to be in a good mindset. Digitally you could also control that safety in many different ways including a security system in your home or 

The second level that is covered in the hierarchy is referring to the ability to see yourself and your life in a positive light. The secondary needs he discusses are belonging and love as well as esteem. Belonging and love refer to how you feel in your environment while esteem refers more to how you feel about yourself. If both of these things are positive in your life, you feel more secure, thus  fulfilling the second level of the hierarchy. Digitally you could refer to social media for both of these. Social media has a great impact not only on self esteem, but also how you feel supported or not in your community. If you are being cyber bullied, these two things would go hand and hand and you will see this level as negative and it will hinder your emotional growth and security.

The third and final level of Maslow’s hierarchy refers to self actualization. This final stage refers to fulfilling your emotional needs to the highest form( a person who has reached their highest potential per say) if someone has reached this level they have mastered their environment as well as their emotional state by following and achieving these levels. Digitally you could use this self actualization stage to help others fulfill their own potential, as  you have. This could be done by starting a blog, a social media page or even a business helping people take control of their emotional health.