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The Gamification of Public Discourse
Video

The Gamification of Public Discourse



Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Bold
  • Engaging

Recommendation

As a former game addict, C. Thi Nguyen says he can feel the same factors that make gaming so satisfying at work in social media discourse: levels, scores and simplified goals. This “gamification” shuts down the kind of deep, nuanced, amiable dialogues about an issue you might have with someone face-to-face, and instead promotes a dumbed-down version of moral outrage, including sound bites and viciousness. Nguyen’s engaging talk peels back the layers to expose the troubling mechanisms underlying modern public discourse.

Take-Aways

  • Much of modern communication plays into people’s preference for simplicity, leading to a dumbed-down version of morality.
  • Echo chambers teach people to distrust those on the outside, while filter bubbles keep people from hearing them. 
  • Oversimplification is one of the most effective weapons in the belief manipulator’s arsenal.

About the Speaker

C. Thi Nguyen is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Utah and the author of the book Games: Agency as Art.