Gamification and Climate Change Activism: Beneficial or Detrimental?

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of “gamification” techniques in climate change activism. “Gamified Activism” may be described as the use of digital applications or websites designed for the purpose of raising awareness on climate-change related issues, asking for donations, and ultimately increasing engagement of citizens. This paper identifies a number of promises and challenges of gamified advocacy in climate change. On the one hand, gamification carries the promise of an easy path to engage citizens, and to foster creative collaboration for charitable causes. Through friendly and captivating designs and the use of digital platforms, gamified strategies may potentially enhance citizens’ support of climate change causes. On the other hand, gamification raises acute legal, societal and cultural challenges. The first and main one is concerned with technology. To exploit citizens’ engagement, gamification has to be deeply rooted in technology. Biases in availability may limit participation only to those with appropriate technologies, while leaving those without access on the outside – a problem that scholars describe in terms of “digital divide”. A second risk of the use of gamification in climate change activism concerns its perception from the public. Gamification strategies are premised on the idea that games embody great potential in capturing citizens’ attention and stimulating their interest with rewards. There may be claims, however, that gamification actually discourages people from participating. This is especially true in cases where participants in gamified processes develop the sense that the process itself was aimed at manipulating their conduct. A third – related – issue concerns the extreme variation of the public that engages in gamified initiatives by Climate Change activists. In many cases “hard-core participants” become extraordinary experts and therefore dominate participation on gamified apps/websites, discouraging occasional participants.