Need - Desire and the case of smartphones
Article by Mr. Skorda Ioannis, Economist.
The article was published in the February STIGMA magazine entitled "Today's Social & Business Actions"
Recognition of the consumer’s needs and desires is a central axis of business policy. Only when the company manages to identify and understand them will it be able to create a product that satisfies them. But what is it that leads individuals to decide how to spend their limited available resources on money, time and effort?
The individual will go through various stages in the decision making process. Initially the need is created in the individual. The person will then act by collecting product related information. How much does it cost, what are its features, what are the alternatives. In the next stage and after processing the information he collected, he will proceed to the selection of the product that this person considers to satisfy his need-desire in the best way. In fact, even after the purchase and use of the good, the person will continue the thought process by evaluating the result of his decision.
How could we prioritize human needs? This question was answered by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, defining five levels of needs that guide our behavior:
- Needs for survival - normal needs
- Security needs
- Needs of social acceptance
- Needs self-esteem
- Needs for self-completion
Smartphones are now an important tool in our daily lives. Starting with the first device whose only advantage was the ability to make a phone call free of cables, today we have reached super devices capable of performing complex processes. In addition, the development of applications for the reproduction of audio and video, social networks, instant access to information make smartphones versatile tools that meet many of our modern needs. Here are some examples:
- Normal needs: Using applications - services, clothing, food, housing.
- Security needs: Health services, e-banking, job search, geolocation services.
- Social needs: Communication, dating, discussion, action planning services.
- Recognition: Social networks, promotion in media, promotion of actions, promotion of creations (articles, music, movies).
But we often see companies, taking advantage of their knowledge of our behavior as consumers, create non-essential products, "substitute" products to meet needs that never existed for the sake of quick and easy profit. The need to acquire the newest model of our device, although it offers us little to no new possibilities, the illusion of real communication or recognition through social networks, the wrong sense of participation and action and even the sense of insecurity we feel when we do not hold in our hands the device are such examples.
The way we use our smart phone, like any tool, is what will define this device as a valuable helper, a tool of productivity and creativity. As consumers, we must act responsibly by putting our needs, priorities and choices on the right footing. Whether the above needs are real or imaginary, whether they are really met or not, whether technology could lead us to the stage of self-integration is something I will leave to your judgment.
