Andy Walker / Android Authority
Some of the early hype has disappeared, but the concept of gamification (turning into a game and rewarding common tasks) has not only survived, but has been fully integrated into society. This is especially common when it comes to digital learning and fitness tracking, so you wouldn’t even think about it when launching an app like Google Fit or Duolingo.
Gamification does have its benefits, but the promotion of gamification actually backfires and makes people want to ignore these systems or stop what they recommend to us. Is a matter of course. I’ll focus on my area of expertise, fitness, but it should be easy to recognize the issues I’m talking about in many other apps and platforms.
Our recommendation: Best fitness tracker
Do more and push to do it every day
If you have a Fitbit or Apple Watch, you’re familiar with notifications about your daily activity goals. Movement. procedure. Are standing. sleep. Achieving milestones is rewarded and often encourages you to work a little, whether you’re achieving those milestones, achieving the best performance you’ve ever achieved, or competing with your friends. If you are the average Joe or Jane who is already doing her best in that situation, it can be stressful in itself.
On the learning side, I used Duolingo to brush up on German, but I remember this app harassing me for everyday use. If you start going without touching it for days, you’ll also get an alert about it. The pressure is not the reason why I stopped improving my German — it was on time and condemned other imminent concerns — but it certainly didn’t help.
Gamification can be stressful if you are the average Joe or Jane who is already doing her best in that situation.
Constant reminders can be too annoying for many of us to handle, especially if you’re already distracted by the flood of notifications for kids, work, study, politics, or other apps. .. It is possible to block some or all of these alerts, but not everyone is technically savvy. To some extent, it is the developer’s responsibility to recognize how much the notification barrage is exhausted.
Cumulatively, you can be flooded with notifications until the opposite problem occurs. Digital noise can be very high. That is, even positive reinforcement can be shuffled and lost. If you’re drowning in news headlines or Instagram messages, congratulating the test isn’t a problem.
Related: Fitbit and Apple Fitness should stop blaming people for taking a rest day
Guilt and resentment against broken stripes
Perhaps more importantly, a gamed goal can create guilt (or make it completely). Apple Fitness has many excellent qualities, but it’s actually one of the worst platforms in this regard. This is not only to encourage Watch owners to close the activity ring daily, but also to rely on maintaining the ring streak for many of the awards. You can have a £ 500 deadlift three days a week, but you can still miss your weekly or monthly badge. Don’t worry about being forced to rest when you get sick or injured.
Gamification can make people feel like they’re doing too little or not getting enough credit.
Systems used by enterprises tend to be free from reality beyond specific use cases. For example, seven days a week exercise is commendable when talking about activities such as walking, light yoga, and short jogging. But if you take fitness seriously, you’ll need a rest day to recover. This is something that is not considered in major health platforms. The best you get is like Google Fit. This rewards you for achieving a certain total of heart points during the week, not daily.
reference: Everything you need to know about Google Fit
It’s no wonder that some people are outraged by gamification. Gamification can feel like you’re doing too little or earning enough credit. This applies to both learning and exercising apps. For example, if you’re learning a language or coding method, you need to maintain a constant pace, but if you’re casually educating yourself, you don’t need to present achievements or reminders. .. It’s likely to be about developers who want revenue-driven engagement, whether it’s advertising revenue or subscriptions.
Do you think gamification (daily goals, awards, etc.) can help you improve your learning and health?
78 votes
How to regain fun
Disclaimer: This is not my home … I took this photo a while back!
The first principle is clear — deliberately ignore or disable gamification unless it suits you. In fact, if you’re interested in a niche like weightlifting, you really need it. Most health platforms are biased towards aerobic exercise, so only some of those indicators are relevant. Similarly, if you’re learning to play the guitar and you’re not going to play those genres, you don’t feel bad about skipping folk or 12-bar blues lessons.
The more personal your goals are, the better, as you are more likely to follow through.
More than this, you need to set your own goals and define your own meaning for success. For example, if you’re learning Python coding, aiming to build a real, practical app is because it’s tailored to your interests rather than a project proposed by a service like Sololearn. , Can be a better motivation. Exercise allows you to set a satisfying benchmark, such as running 5K or pushing your weight.
The more personal your goals are, the better, as you are more likely to follow through. As you can imagine, there are many reasons to go to the gym, but these days my 4-year-old boy is the strongest. I want to pick him up as long as possible and become a model of health when most dads resign on the couch. When he is old enough, he wants to teach him to lift and put it in the box.
To be clear, I’m a fan of digital learning and health platforms overall. It’s cheaper than paying for a class or hiring a trainer for a few weeks, so it tends to be more efficient, not to mention easy access. When gamification works, it can change your life. But these platforms need to always work for our own purposes, not the games that tech companies want us to play.
read more: The best digital learning app on Android
