Gaming becoming gambling - as neoliberal "web 3" makes more implicit value into explicit value (and doctors and therapists note how monetised and randomised loot boxes cause real harm to families of those struggling with the newly diagnosed "gaming addition", which could, more honestly be described as gambling addiction when the monetary angle is fully explored).
Not all that unrelated, then we have the explicit gamification of corporate loyalty rewards programmes - now with added "loot boxes" (that is randomised rewards for increased spend...)
End result? The lines between loyalty, gaming, gambling are blurred. What does that mean for business ethics when it comes to designing loyalty programmes to maximise loyalty with gambling techniques designed for addiction?
Is our pursuit of nudgy-neuroliberalist gamified loyalty as benign as we believe it to be?
Is self-gamification - rewarding yourself for, well, living and doing basic tasks like getting out of bed - a helpful coping mechanism or is it more self limiting than we let on?
How can you lead a team that expects "rewards" and treats for showing up and doing the job they were hired to do?
Hmmm.
It’s all fun and games until someone lands in rehab.
The neoliberal idea that everything (even loyalty) can -and should - be priced has some interesting side effects.
Read more:
Loyalty as gaming : https://www.goodthingsguy.com/lifestyle/wild-space-revolutionary-app-gamifies-grocery-shopping-in-south-africa/
Gaming as gambling : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/14/more-than-850-people-referred-to-london-clinic-for-video-game-addicts-gambling-style-features-loot-boxes
Little treat culture (or DIY IRL nudge loot boxes to keep you going through your day) :https://uk.news.yahoo.com/little-treat-culture-tiktok-trend-145006245.html
Neuroliberalism : https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/neuroliberalism-welcome-government-21st-century/
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