Exploring the Darkness of Gamification: You Want It Darker?

“The findings of this research are contrary to the ones provided by some authors (Nyström, 2021), who highlighted the adverse effects of gamification, such as the lack of understanding, irrelevance, or worsened performance.”

“Moreover, the reviewed publications did not address common ethical concerns in the literature on ethical issues in gamification, such as exploitation, manipulation, competition, or addiction, which have been raised in other contexts [76] such as corporate work [77].”

“Ethical concerns related to manipulation and transparency are also among the commonly mentioned problems in 1 3 1174 Gamification Framework for Participatory Modeling: A Proposal gamification (Nyström 2021).”

“…social engagement with peers and teachers (“I regularly participate in class discussions in most of my classes” and “I ask my teachers questions during class if I do not understand”) (Schreiner & Louis, 2011; see also Hutain & Michinov, 2022a, 2022b; Zhoc et al., 2019, 2021; Hoi & Le Hang, 2021).”

“While gamification can make apps more engaging or useful (Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011), it also has its limits and “dark side” (Nystr € om, 2021; Sch € obel et al., 2021) raising concerns about negative outcomes, such as manipulation and even exploitation (Bogost, 2013; Marczewski, 2017).”

“In addition, some concerns about using game-like mechanics at work may violate ethical principles, such as exploiting employees through artificial motivation or using gamification as a surveillance tool, which creates privacy issues (Nystro¨m, 2021).”

“However, findings remain mixed, with studies repeatedly raising concerns about negative or null effects of gamified interventions [15, 36, 48].”

“Downsides of gamification have been previously identified, including addiction to gamification elements, reinforcement of “badge-seeking,” and cessation of reinforced behaviors once the extrinsic rewards are removed (Nyström, 2021).”

“Nystr¨om (2021), in a review of literature, showed that there are several themes that emanated from the literature on the considerations that should guide the adoption of gami fi cation.”

“Poorly designed gamified systems – those that lack personalisation or overwhelm users with superficial re-wards – can lead to disengagement or burnout (Nyström, 2021).”

“A systematic literature review [45] argues that sensory persuasion (e.g., visual and auditory feedback) can obscure detection.”

“…intrinsic motivation due to excessive reliance on external rewards (Hammedi et al., 2024; Krüger Mariano & Chiappe, 2021; Lu et al., 2022; Nyström, 2021; Yamakami, 2013); intentional problems such as violation of privacy, data misuse and user manipulation and exploitation through…”

“However, significant concerns—the “dark side”—must be addressed, including the potential for extrinsic rewards to undermine intrinsic motivation, increased competition, addiction risks, and ethical issues related to surveillance and data integrity (Nyström, 2021; Kwon & Özpolat, 2021).”

“Some people think that games are a curse, believe they are distractions from studies, and thus instinctively avoid them [10].”

“De diepere lagen van ontwikkeling, zoals oordeelsvermogen, moreel besef en volgehouden aandacht raken ondergesneeuwd (Nyström, 2021).”

“To clarify problems related to gamification, study [5] surveyed gamification studies, and classified them into seven problem domains such as motivation and addiction.”