“Governmentality, Playbor, and Peak Performance: Critiques and Concerns of Gamification Systems for Health and Wellness.”

Gamification—the use of video game elements in non-gaming environments—is an effective and lucrative method of compelling audiences to engage with behaviors normally found aversive or uninteresting. Gamified applications are found in myriad areas, from education and social justice to health and wellness. A preponderance of evidence suggests that gamified health applications have a demonstrated positive effect on mental and physical health, but these benefits are often not balanced against the unanticipated or unknown consequences to individuals that come with coercing players towards activities that might not be for the players’ own benefit. The current chapter defines and explains gamification as a construct broadly and within the context of health and wellness, discusses the success of various health and wellness “games,” and both highlights and speculates on potential privacy violations and exploitative interactions stemming from uncritical engagement with health and wellness gamif