You've Been Played
How Corporations, Governments, and Schools Use Games to Control Us All
New York : Basic Books, 2022.
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: v, 308 pages ; 25 cm
"A call-center worker patiently troubleshoots a customer's broken printer, while a cartoon character in a corner of his screen chides him for sounding too unengaged. An exhausted Uber driver needs extra cash, so she accepts a pop-up Quest on her app: drive another three trips to get a $6 bonus. At home, her partner spends hundreds of hours combing through obscure forums about the QAnon conspiracy theory: uncovering clues and drawing connections feels just like a game. This isn't a dystopian fantasy: points, badges, achievements, and leaderboards are slowly creeping into every aspect of modern life. In You've Been Played, neuroscientist and game designer Adrian Hon provides a blistering takedown of how corporations, schools, and governments are using games to coerce and control workers, students, and all citizens. Although this trend--called gamification--can sometimes work for our benefit, Hon shows us that, in fact, it is more often a high-tech means for behavioral, physical, and emotional exploitation. These are games that we often have no choice but to play, where failure isn't met with a cheery 'try again' but with very real financial and social penalties. Hon shows how gamification exploits our new fixation on mindfulness; why massive companies like Amazon and Uber are so keen to adopt gamification as fast as they can; why the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory is deliberately designed like an 'alternate reality game'; and why augmented reality could turn our entire lives into a hellish game we can never escape. Hon writes chillingly about the gamification's dire consequences, but more importantly, he shows us how we can marshal it as a force for good. You've Been Played is a scathing indictment of a tech-driven world that wants us to think misery is fun, and a call to arms for anyone who hopes to preserve their dignity and autonomy, at our jobs and in our lives"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents:
The rise of gamification -- Level up your life -- Grind and punishment -- Doing it well -- The gamification of games -- The magnificent bribe -- "I've done my research" -- The world as game -- The treasury of merit -- Escaping softlock.
ISBN:
9781541600171
Availability | |||
---|---|---|---|
Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
SOCIAL SCI Hon | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | Out (Due: 6/19/2024) |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-289) and index.