How I Gamify Life With Technology
The dopamine rush we get from our devices isn’t all bad
In 1994, I was a case study at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The study involved gathering problem children, those of us with too much energy and not enough attention, to try and figure out strategies for making us behave.
At the time, not much was known about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and many of us — myself included — were incorrectly diagnosed with the disorder. ADHD shares many common characteristics with childhood post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), something I wouldn’t learn I had until I was 33 years old.
For every “good” task I completed, I was given a plastic token. The token was inserted into a container, in my case an old Parmesan cheese container with a slotted lid.
After my initial diagnosis, behavior plans were sent to many parents and teachers. The plans, at their core, were my first introduction to the gamification of life. Something that as an adult, I am still wired to participate in and enjoy more than some of my peers. The plan I was given was a real-life point system that turned my life into a role-playing game (RPG), complete with money accrual…
