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Gamifying Online News in a Senior Online Community: Insights from Designing and Assessing the Readers’ Experience

Author

Listed:
  • Francisco Regalado

    (DigiMedia, Department of Communication and Art, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Liliana Vale Costa

    (DigiMedia, Department of Communication and Art, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Fernanda Martins

    (CITCEM, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal)

  • Ana Isabel Veloso

    (DigiMedia, Department of Communication and Art, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

Aging audiences and the shift of news consumption to an online paradigm have led to the need of finding strategies to engage aging readers with online news by assessing their news consumption habits and identifying the potential for digital platforms to assist the reader’s journey, i.e., the activities performed from access to the information to the relatedness and shareability of the news content. It is well established that the use of game elements and game thinking within the context of a community can capture the user’s attention and lead to behavioral engagement toward repetitive tasks. However, information about the design implications of socially gamified news to the aging reader’s experience is still lacking. Using a development research approach, we implemented a prototype that socially gamifies news to support the aging reader experience based on a pre-assessment survey with 248 participants about their news consumption habits and motivations. We then validated the prototype with six market-oriented representatives of Portuguese newspapers and eleven adults aged 50 and over. A model for onboarding a reader’s 6-step journey (read, react, discuss, share, relate and experience) within the context of a Senior Online Community using gamification is proposed. The game elements used can inform the design of a much more personalized experience of consuming news and news behavioral engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco Regalado & Liliana Vale Costa & Fernanda Martins & Ana Isabel Veloso, 2021. "Gamifying Online News in a Senior Online Community: Insights from Designing and Assessing the Readers’ Experience," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:12:p:463-:d:695487
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Abhishek Behl & Manish Gupta & Justin Zhang, 2025. "Guest editorial overview: “dark side of online communities”," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-11, March.
    2. Nirma Sadamali Jayawardena & Aastha Behl, 2025. "Adverse effects of using gamification elements in online communities: a scoping review," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 69-97, March.

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