In Paharia’s (2013) chapter 4, he communicates the idea of utilizing gamification. The competitor in me loves this type of marketing tactics, because I am all about leaderboards, leveling up, and conquering all. This is perfect for the mastery and progress driven type of consumer. On page 66, the author mentions quantified self—” purpose is to derive self-knowledge through self-tracking…by capturing and analyzing data…you can better understand those aspects of your life and what affects them and then use that knowledge to motivate behavior change” (Paharia, 2013, p.66). After reading this, my mind immediately went to the tracking watches (Apple and Garmin), and the Oura rings. These products offer some of the most extensive data collection you can obtain, concerning things like sleep retention, sickness alerts, menstrual cycles, etc. In class today, we actually got into small groups and discussed the concerns or praises for big data—especially in formats like these. We discussed HIPPA policies and argued for and against the companies. Personally, most of my teammates have a tracking watch or ring, and they are constantly analyzing sleep scores, stress levels, and physical activity. Most of the time, they are comparing scores and discouraged when theirs are low. Sometimes it seems like more stress is added when they are striving to get higher scores for something your body does naturally. I believe in moderation it can be a positive thing to check on physical statistics, but if it causes additional stress, it is the opposite of helpful.
Two of my favorite apps that uses gamification extremely well are Versify and Duolingo. During Covid, I was bored, (like most of the planet), and wanted to learn a new language. I have always been intrigued about the innerworkings of Paris and the French dialogue, so I began to learn. Duolingo awarded me with badges, points, and kept track of my daily learning streak. It encouraged me to continue to be disciplined, and I learned to love it as well. (I do want to add, this phase only lasts a few months, and since then I have not retained more than 5 words). The second app I want to shoutout is Versify. I had a goal in the fall of 2025 to learn 10 bible verses by the end of the year. With this app, I filled in the blanks, to quizzes, tests, and more. Currently they added more features, and learning verses truly feels like an ‘advergame’ (p. 69), game. However, they could do better at sending reminders, or making some type of reward system to increase their gamification efforts.
On page 79, Paharia addresses one of the 10 mechanics of gamification, which is competition. As I mentioned above, I love competing and I think a healthy challenge between your peers holds you accountable and encourages you to strive for more. I thought about this is a Christian point of view, we are called to “run with endurance the race that is set before us,” but we are not competing with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The verse continues by saying,
“looking only at Jesus, the [a]originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (New American Standard Bible, 2020, Hebrews 12:1-2). Jesus already has the victory; our goal is to look as much like Him as possible.
New American Standard Bible. (2020). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204%3A19&version=NIV (Original work published 1960)
Paharia, R. (2013). Loyalty 3.0: How big data and gamification are revolutionizing customer and
employee engagement. McGraw-Hill Education.
