Pyramid of Internet Needs
Don’t you have this urge – this yearning and necessity – that you must do before you start your day? Some might call that “ritual”, while others see it as part of their daily lives that they can’t do without.
What are we talking about? Very soon (if this has not already happened), we humans will have to add another important “must-have” to our basic needs of survival. Food, water, air, and, guess what’s next? The Internet.
Undeniably, it has become a ubiquitous tool to stay in touch with others and to catch up on the latest whatever. The inception of the Internet has brought about a new revolution to the idea of communication. In fact, thanks to technology, human-to-human communication has definitely moved up a notch compared to, say, a decade or two ago. No more “snail-mailing” and waiting for the post to arrive when an email is what you need to deliever an intended message – in a matter of seconds. No more ruminating and speculating on how the other side of the world should look like when all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse to get a virtual “tour” of your desired destination via glorious images and high-definition videos.
In this modern day gadget-infiltrated society, the Internet is even on our mobile phones, laptops, and more recently tablets like the iPads. All thanks to the various technology like WiFi, GPRS, and 3G, we are actually connected 24/7. The 21st century has definitely sparked a new wave of communication – via social networking sites like Friendster, Myspace and more popularly, Facebook. Get instant news and happenings of your best friend through their tweets on Twitter, or status updates on Facebook.
However, here’s a growing trend: Have you ever found a compulsion, an obssessive need to check your Facebook, Twitter and email updates every morning once you wake up from slumber? Is that part of a habit, or has it become a daily ritual?
Students of Psychology, Communication or Social Science studies are probably well acquainted with Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs. At the base of the pyramid of needs are the physiological needs for survival. Further up the pyramid shows needs for comfort, security and psychological aspects.
Now, here’s a twist on the hierarchy chart that is tuned to our Internet needs. Before you start protesting (or cringing) on the new reality, take a closer look and see if you have, in fact, become a part of this hierarchy.
Oh… And no way is Justin Bieber going to be part of my chart. Enough said.
