The Internet Generation vs. Maslow

[Prometheus]

Just in case you aren't familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I'll toss in a visual aid*:

*Please note that the text is paraphrased.

The lowest two levels represent what most of us might call, "The Basics for Survival."

The middle level, "Belonging" is our most basic psychological need and deeply affects our access to the ones below it... "Safety in numbers" ring a bell? This is also the level where we start to form our cultural identity and sense of morality. Being a fission-fusion society, this is also where we start identifying in-groups and out-groups.

The Internet offers an easier avenue to connect with other members of the in-group which heightens our sense of belonging but it also offers a lot of opportunity for "out-group derogation" more commonly known as, "discrimination." A big part of showing one's allegiance to the in-group is to denigrate the out-group, particularly for not sharing the same values (in their entirety) with the in-group. Call it "online bullying" or "cancel culture" or by any other name and you still end up at the same place: people seeking belonging by "virtue signaling" and "dog whistling."

This ties in nicely with the next highest level: Self-Esteem - the desire to be recognized and praised. The Internet Generation thrives on counting their "Likes" and "Re-tweets'" etc. They revel in pouncing on the out-group with "dislikes" and snarky comments in search of more "likes" to bolster their esteem.

And this is where so many of them get stuck. They think that they are "Self-Actualized" because they feel "fulfillment" with their "like" count, but a key factor of the "Self-Actualization" level is objectivity... the lack of prejudice.

Without objectivity, true self-actualization will never come and people will find themselves circling an endless loop of frustration. Frustrated people become more and more angry and stressed over time, leading to violence (physical or verbal). Even those are self-actualized can find themselves slipping into this loop from time-to-time.

Permanent self-actualization is a rarer quality still and becoming rarer, but striving for it is a worthwhile endeavor and probably the only thing that will save humanity in the long run.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a "like."

[abbey1227]

Jun 23, 2021 3:29:45 GMT Prometheus said:

Just in case you aren't familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I'll toss in a visual aid*:

*Please note that the text is paraphrased.

The lowest two levels represent what most of us might call, "The Basics for Survival."

The middle level, "Belonging" is our most basic psychological need and deeply affects our access to the ones below it... "Safety in numbers" ring a bell? This is also the level where we start to form our cultural identity and sense of morality. Being a fission-fusion society, this is also where we start identifying in-groups and out-groups.

The Internet offers an easier avenue to connect with other members of the in-group which heightens our sense of belonging but it also offers a lot of opportunity for "out-group derogation" more commonly known as, "discrimination." A big part of showing one's allegiance to the in-group is to denigrate the out-group, particularly for not sharing the same values (in their entirety) with the in-group. Call it "online bullying" or "cancel culture" or by any other name and you still end up at the same place: people seeking belonging by "virtue signaling" and "dog whistling."

This ties in nicely with the next highest level: Self-Esteem - the desire to be recognized and praised. The Internet Generation thrives on counting their "Likes" and "Re-tweets'" etc. They revel in pouncing on the out-group with "dislikes" and snarky comments in search of more "likes" to bolster their esteem.

And this is where so many of them get stuck. They think that they are "Self-Actualized" because they feel "fulfillment" with their "like" count, but a key factor of the "Self-Actualization" level is objectivity... the lack of prejudice.

Without objectivity, true self-actualization will never come and people will find themselves circling an endless loop of frustration. Frustrated people become more and more angry and stressed over time, leading to violence (physical or verbal). Even those are self-actualized can find themselves slipping into this loop from time-to-time.

Permanent self-actualization is a rarer quality still and becoming rarer, but striving for it is a worthwhile endeavor and probably the only thing that will save humanity in the long run.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a "like."

What if a person sorta skipped over that whole 'sense of belonging' stuff (for a variety of reasons) and went right to determining their sense of morality?

[Prometheus]

Jun 23, 2021 4:34:18 GMT abbey1227 said:

Jun 23, 2021 3:29:45 GMT Prometheus said:

Just in case you aren't familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I'll toss in a visual aid*:

*Please note that the text is paraphrased.

The lowest two levels represent what most of us might call, "The Basics for Survival."

The middle level, "Belonging" is our most basic psychological need and deeply affects our access to the ones below it... "Safety in numbers" ring a bell? This is also the level where we start to form our cultural identity and sense of morality. Being a fission-fusion society, this is also where we start identifying in-groups and out-groups.

The Internet offers an easier avenue to connect with other members of the in-group which heightens our sense of belonging but it also offers a lot of opportunity for "out-group derogation" more commonly known as, "discrimination." A big part of showing one's allegiance to the in-group is to denigrate the out-group, particularly for not sharing the same values (in their entirety) with the in-group. Call it "online bullying" or "cancel culture" or by any other name and you still end up at the same place: people seeking belonging by "virtue signaling" and "dog whistling."

This ties in nicely with the next highest level: Self-Esteem - the desire to be recognized and praised. The Internet Generation thrives on counting their "Likes" and "Re-tweets'" etc. They revel in pouncing on the out-group with "dislikes" and snarky comments in search of more "likes" to bolster their esteem.

And this is where so many of them get stuck. They think that they are "Self-Actualized" because they feel "fulfillment" with their "like" count, but a key factor of the "Self-Actualization" level is objectivity... the lack of prejudice.

Without objectivity, true self-actualization will never come and people will find themselves circling an endless loop of frustration. Frustrated people become more and more angry and stressed over time, leading to violence (physical or verbal). Even those are self-actualized can find themselves slipping into this loop from time-to-time.

Permanent self-actualization is a rarer quality still and becoming rarer, but striving for it is a worthwhile endeavor and probably the only thing that will save humanity in the long run.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a "like."

What if a person sorta skipped over that whole 'sense of belonging' stuff (for a variety of reasons) and went right to determining their sense of morality?

You mean psychopaths?

See how I gave the answer in the form of a question? Give me a like for that!

[abbey1227]

Jun 23, 2021 4:39:19 GMT Prometheus said:

Jun 23, 2021 4:34:18 GMT abbey1227 said:

What if a person sorta skipped over that whole 'sense of belonging' stuff (for a variety of reasons) and went right to determining their sense of morality?

You mean psychopaths?

See how I gave the answer in the form of a question? Give me a like for that!

humanvoices.proboards.com/thread/610/psychopath 

[permutojoe]

I like the other pyramid better. Sex, drugs, and rock n roll. Actually it's probably just another way to say the same thing.