ASMR Talk: Psychology and History of Games, Gamification

"Gamification" describes a strategy: introducing gaming elements and mechanics into everyday activities - like learning, consuming, or producing - to make them more engaging, or even mildly addictive. It is also a phenomenon. From loyalty programs and budgeting apps to social media and ride-sharing, we play more games than we realize. In this episode, I examine this situation, starting from my own experience as a content creator. We will explore the psychological mechanisms and neuroscience that make games so appealing, the blurred boundaries between play and work, and the benefits of gamification like fun, productivity, and motivation. We will also look at the downsides - specifically, how reality and subjective experiences may become standardized and flattened when they serve to feed a numbers game that we confuse with reality. Timestamps: 0:00 Is your Life Gamified? 6:15 The Creator's Numbers Game 15:50 How Gamification Flattens Reality 28:58 A Bit of History 37:39 Psychology of Play and Work 47:12 What Happens in the Brain Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.