Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and How Social Media Fulfil them
Social Media has substantially revolutionised the way we communicate and interact globally, as well as the way we fulfil our social needs.
Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist that proposed a theory in 1943, called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He used the terms Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem and Self-Realization to describe which motivations are more important to us and to what extent. The more fundamental and basic needs are at the bottom of the hierarchy. The following infographic shows how we can relate the most popular Social Media platforms to Maslow’s social needs.
Writing a blog lets your creativity flow freely and helps you expand your ideas throughout the internet. That’s why blog platforms such as Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr appear at the top of Maslow’s pyramid, in the Self-Realization area.
Twitter appears at the Esteem level, as a confidence and self-esteem booster. Because Facebook and Google+ are important parts of building relationships and being in contact with friends and family, they are classified as the social need to Belong. Finally, LinkedIn is associated with Safety, as a professional Social Network.
70 years later, Maslow pyramid continues to generate new understandings of how human behaviour and needs connect towards self-realisation. But… does this infographic represent your experience of how social networks fulfil your social needs?
