Maslow’s (New) Pyramid

Dr. Abraham Maslow published his famous “Hierarchy of Needs” in 1943. The idea is simple: the essential survival needs in the lowest level of the pyramid must be satisfied before the individual can turn his or her attention to the next level, and so on. Maslow’s “essential needs” include food, water and warmth. Now, I’m not exactly a psychologist here (and by “not exactly” I mean “not at all”) but I believe Maslow might have changed his tune had he lived in 2017. I can’t be the only one who would sacrifice, say, a pizza to binge watch Stranger Things, right? Are you telling me you wouldn’t be willing to sleep outside in the cold so you could live-tweet the solar eclipse? Just who do you think you are?

Look, I’m not saying food and water aren’t great — they’re ok. I get the appeal. But there is no comparison to the sweet, sweet nectar of Wi-Fi. It feeds your soul (and kills it when reading youtube comments); it keeps you connected to the people you love and the people you like and the people you’re not sure why you’re still facebook friends with; it makes your work day bearable (but only just).  In short, Wi-Fi is “the new essential”. If ole’ Maslow were alive today (probably as some PBR swilling Williamsburg hipster), we think this is how his pyramid might look.