I think it would be nice to have an app like nikeplus, which had:
- track records on map
- milestones
- fancy trophy badges
- training plans
See old introduction video https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=4IGT5XAh8vo
https://github.com/wger-project
You also have the application in main F-Droid repository.
About the gamification:
That will be difficult to be seen in independent projects as the idea behind it is to make people using the service or app adicted to it.
This makes easier for non-ethical services to maintain a fixed userbase to get unlimited income.
This makes easier for non-ethical services to maintain a fixed userbase to get unlimited income.
It’s also what makes it easier for people to stay on track. I don’t see why you couldn’t do that in independent projects.
Coming from a family with members having issues with addiction, one of them being my intelectually disabled brother for which companies have no mercy in their games and ads, I don’t see how these little benefits over maintaining people on a routine are reliable enough to maintain a behaviour that can be abused easily and, specially, when people get used to it.
Thankfully, I am not the only one knowing that.
So what you’re saying is these apps shouldn’t use a mechanic that helps the majority of people when done in a non-exploitative manner?
I am telling you that for this specific mechanic for which the situation have been probed, is not ethical to maintain its use and promotion.
A meta study doesn’t seem to agree with you that gamification in physical activity (PA) contexts is neccessarily and always bad:
gamified interventions appear to be a promising avenue to promote PA to various publics. Influencing primarily the number of daily steps of the participants, gamification is an interesting way to improve daily PA. However, if the effect of gamification persists in follow-up, this effect decreases with time with a more volatile long-term effect. The integration of gamification in more global healthcare interventions could be a way to address this limited sustainability. Future rigorous trials are needed to explore these perspectives.
