School of Management & Entrepreneurship organizing a seminar on Gamified Health: A phenomenological inquiry of mental and physical health apps during a public health crisis"

The School of Management & Entrepreneurship invites you to a seminar titled Gamified Health: A phenomenological inquiry of mental and physical health apps during a public health crisis" by Prof. Gaurav Gupta, NEOMA Business School, France on 21 April 2022 from 12:00 PM.

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, discourses on health took center stage, and many mobile health applications (both physiological and psychological) gained unprecedented popularity. However, the design philosophy and the mechanisms that motivate users towards positive engagement are very different. Using a phenomenological inquiry, we examine the lived experiences of users of such gamified health apps. Through in-depth qualitative conversational interviews, we illuminate the addictive and gamified elements of the apps and their approach towards positive engagement. Delving into the prominent debates within gamification, we argue that physiological tracking apps prominently employ a ludic approach as opposed to mental health apps that use narratology for immersion. Our findings also reveal that such health apps create engagement through (a) creating digital rituals and ecosystem; and, (b) employing differentiated gamification.