Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Mapped to Social Media Sites in Infographic
Applying theories from psychology, sociology and biology to social media often provides valuable insight.
Let’s apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs mapped to social media sites with the help of the below infographic.
Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who originally presented his Hierarchy of Needs as a theory in a paper in 1943 titled A Theory of Human Motivation.
Unlike other psychologists, Maslow focused on studying “exemplary people” instead of people with mental illness. In his research, he spent much of his time studying the healthiest one percent of college students.
It was not until 1954 in the book Motivation and Personality that Maslow presented his theory in its entirety.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Explained
According to Maslow’s theory on the Hierarchy of Needs there are five different needs that all people need to have met.
Physiological Needs
These are the most basic and primary needs of each human. Everyone needs to take care of their body and meet its needs for survival. This includes food, water and breathing, among other things.
Safety Needs
Once a person’s physical needs are met, Maslow believed safety was the next most important need. According to his theory, safety needs can include personal security, financial security, health and well being, as well as safety against accidents and illness.
Love and Belonging
After a person has met their physiological and safety needs, Maslow believe that the third most important need was that of love and belonging. He highlights in the theory that this includes friendship, intimacy and family.
Esteem
Maslow believed that all people have a need to be respected by others, as well as have a feeling of self-respect . Once the previous needs are met, Maslow postulates that people need to feel accepted and valued by others.
Self-Actualization
The final level in Maslow’s hierarchy is self-actualization. As explained in the theory, once the previous needs are met people naturally strive to continue to improve to reach their maximum potential.
Infographic on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Mapped to Social Media Sites
Infographic courtesy of SMTT and Lombok Design.
Tags: Psychology
4 Comments
I would have to say that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is in direct opposition to what is postulated in this infographic (as fun as it is to try and illustrate perceived similarities). Maslow’s theory stated that only after previous needs were met, would the next tier of personal needs be presented. You could illustrate that social media encourages and meets certain externally-influenced needs, but it is a progressive process – not a direct goal. For example – you wouldn’t see starting up a Blog as a channel to self-realization… but you may be able to utilize a Blog to meet lower tier needs such as Belonging or Esteem to drive yourself toward self-realization.
I made a similar one for gamers. It’s not quite as fancy, though.
http://hardhobbittobreak.com/?p=153
I really love this perspective Matthew. I’m surprised there are not more comments here. I’m always fascinated with why people use social media and share so much in the first place. It definitely satisfies deep needs, otherwise it would not have become so widely accepted so quickly. Thanks for taking the time to think this through.