Digital Motivation, Digital Addiction and Responsibility Requirements

Digital media can utilise game and behaviour change mechanisms to enrich engagement and user experience and increase their retention. Such mechanisms can also be used within the business software so that performance and quality of work are enhanced, e.g. gamification. While the positive side of these advances is recognised, there is little acknowledgement about their potential adverse effects on well-being. With recent research showing evidence of some digital media usage patterns being problematic and meeting the criteria of behavioural addiction, questions on the ethics, practices and responsibility of software companies are on the rise. Unlike alcohol, digital media can be designed to sense and react to problematic usage styles. This invited talk discusses why and how the software engineering community would need to take part in designing for conscious and informed technology usage.