In the current landscape, gamification is increasingly used to influence human behavior across various sectors, including non-gaming activities. Corporations implement game mechanics such as status bars, progress indicators, and scoring systems to engage users more effectively. For example, dating apps employ experience points (XP) that incentivize user interaction; as users engage more, they accumulate scores that can be used to access various features or purchases, such as emojis for messaging potential dates. This trend demonstrates the powerful role of gamification in enhancing user experience and driving engagement.
“We have created for ourselves a world that we didn't evolve for.”
Gurwinder Bhogal is, for my money, one of the most independent, original and insightful thinkers you’ll find in our corner of the internet.
He returns to discuss how willpower and good old-fashioned human agency can help us reclaim our mental sovereignty and escape the “constant avalanche of concerns that are being vomited over us through our laptop screens, our phones, our TV screens, and in conversations.”
For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!” check out our Substack.
Important Links:
Show Notes:
- “We have created for ourselves a world we didn’t evolve for”
- The dogged persistence of our stubborn beliefs
- Gamification; generational differences in agency
- The societal impact of the education system’s changing priorities
- How to zombify a population
- Skin in the game: Gurwinder’s guide to reclaiming agency
- LLMs, bullshit, and the atomization of culture
- How to play better games
- Willpower is the bottleneck
- Gurwinder as emperor of the world
- MORE!
Books Mentioned: