Sometimes I hate how something as simple as a daily streak makes you feel the need to keep coming back. It’s great to build habits, but not when the habit isn’t exactly useful.
Duolingo has always been a standout to me as early users of gamification.
Mobile games have always been egregious with timers, cooldowns and all the other overwhelming fomo stuff.
Do you have any examples of good and bad uses of gamification Rohan?
I totally agree, Rasmus. Gamification can be so powerful that it almost creates a compulsion to perform certain actions. I always evaluate new products to see how they incentivize use, and any red flags instantly make me look for alternatives. Preserving the user's freedom to choose their incentives is crucial for good design.
A good example is the Apple Watch. I wrote one of my first posts on it, and it’s been life-changing for me.
On the flip side, Snapchat’s snap streaks or those mobile games with odd cooldown times, like every 3 hours, are some of the worst examples. They can lead to compulsive behavior, where people wake up at odd hours to collect virtual rewards or maintain streaks. Platforms have the data to know this and still maintain these features, which is unhealthy incentivization in action.
Sometimes I hate how something as simple as a daily streak makes you feel the need to keep coming back. It’s great to build habits, but not when the habit isn’t exactly useful.
Duolingo has always been a standout to me as early users of gamification.
Mobile games have always been egregious with timers, cooldowns and all the other overwhelming fomo stuff.
Do you have any examples of good and bad uses of gamification Rohan?
I totally agree, Rasmus. Gamification can be so powerful that it almost creates a compulsion to perform certain actions. I always evaluate new products to see how they incentivize use, and any red flags instantly make me look for alternatives. Preserving the user's freedom to choose their incentives is crucial for good design.
A good example is the Apple Watch. I wrote one of my first posts on it, and it’s been life-changing for me.
On the flip side, Snapchat’s snap streaks or those mobile games with odd cooldown times, like every 3 hours, are some of the worst examples. They can lead to compulsive behavior, where people wake up at odd hours to collect virtual rewards or maintain streaks. Platforms have the data to know this and still maintain these features, which is unhealthy incentivization in action.