Aylin Ilhan and Kaja Joanna Fietkiewicz
Nowadays, many people have to increasingly deal with the question ‘How can I improve my health?’ Fortunately, the market for wearable technologies (e.g., Fitbit or Garmin) supports people by enabling them to track, monitor, and analyze their physical activity. Despite the technological component, in order for the wearables to be successful, important are the user engagement design and (enhancing) users’ motivation. This can be achieved with well-conceived integration of gamification elements in the fitness tracker mobile applications. A successful user engagement design of the fitness tracker applications can not only motivate the users to continually apply the service, but also inspire them to be more active long-term. There are several theories dealing with user motivation and which were considered relevant for this research: the Goal Orientation Theory, the Self-Determination Theory, and Flow Theory. This study concentrates on ten wearable products and their fitness tracking applications, (1) to compare the integrated gamification mechanics, (2) to analyze possible dynamics triggered by these mechanics, and (3) to identify user engagement designs supporting long-term learning and engagement in a healthier lifestyle.
This is the abstract of a book chapter. The full chapter is available here. Citation: Aylin Ilhan and Kaja Joanna Fietkiewicz (2019): Learning for a healthier lifestyle through gamification: A case study of fitness tracker applications, In: Buchem, Klamma, Wild (Eds.): Perspectives on Wearable Enhanced Learning (WELL): Current Trends, Research, and Practice, Springer.
