Promoting Exercise Through Gamification-Making Physical Activity More Fun?

Promoting Exercise Through Gamification-Making Physical Activity More Fun?

By Peter Ubel

February 11, 2021

Summary

So I was excited to see a JAMA article led by Mitesh Patel demonstrating that people exercise more when their experience is "Gamified".

Their idea of gamification was not as much fun as it ultimately needed to be.

People were given 70 points each week, and could hold on to those points if they met their "Step goal," for how much they walked each day.

If they were part of a team, their points might help their teammate move up a level - the "Collaboration arm" of the trial.

Other times, they got to see whether they got more points than a competitor - if they were in the "Competition arm" of the trial.

MORE FOR YOU. There were a lot of elements of a successful digital game: points, levels, and competition.

Getting a few points for walking and moving from bronze to silver - that doesn't feel motivating to me.

What's more, there's no evidence I can see from the article that the researchers tried to help people have fun while exercising.

Winning points for points' sake? Getting silver for silver's sake? That might motivate some people.

I'd love to see what might happen if such gamification was also filled with a sense of fun.

Reference

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