Maslow 2.0
Facebook is not meeting my need to connect and belong.
So, I’m thinking through the implications of removing all optional social media from my life for a month, per the plan Cal Newport lays out in his most recent book, Digital Minimalism.
The promise of social media is community, belonging, and connection. But, turns out, this is a terrible way to achieve any of these things.
Every product and service makes a promise.
“I will protect you from all harm at every level with my 5-star security system.”
“I will make your life easier by delivering food to your door.”
“I will make you feel like royalty when you stay at my high-end hotel.”
Every human has basic needs. Food. Shelter. Clothing.
Once those basic needs are fulfilled, there are the deeper needs of connection, achievement, and self-realization. It’s Maslow 2.0.
Most of the world doesn’t have the capacity to grapple with much beyond basic needs. Enterprise that serves the population who has the capacity to explore the deepest level of human need should also consider how it might serve the majority world who still can’t get clean water or enough food.
“#FirstWorldProblems” has nothing to do with the wrong shampoo in my hotel room. The biggest issues that keep us up at night should be around meeting level-one needs for those who don’t have the power to meet them on their own.
So, start a business. Become prosperous.
