Hive is really addicting at first. But I don't need to tell any of you that, you probably already knew that. Logically, we would think that this is due to the reward system in place, and you would be right. Not just monetary rewards, but also rewards in engagement, which is usually the main reward system in social media type platforms. Each time we are rewarded, we get a hit of dopamine.
I myself have recently noticed that Hive keeps pulling me back in. During the pandemic, I had much more time to blog almost every day, but nowadays, it often happens that I don't write anything for weeks, and then suddenly my mind decides to randomly assert thoughts about Hive into existence. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
Getting a hit of dopamine occurs even more when you play video games. This is because these video games are designed to keep your attention at all times and overload your brain with that rewarding feeling and therefore dopamine. But why am I talking about video games now? Well, some platforms use the same concept video games use to increase their level of addictiveness, which is referred to as "gamification".
What is gamification exactly?
Gamification is when we take game elements and mechanics, and implement these into a non-gaming environment. Right now we are focusing on the rewards side of this, but it can also include goals, leaderboards, etc, which the Hive community kind of implements on its own as well. The purpose of gamification is to increase engagement and interaction within whatever context it's put into by making the thing more fun and enjoyable for users.
Dilbert would somewhat disagree though:
That being said, this concept of gamification is what elevates a platform like Hive to the next level of keeping our attention and staying fun throughout longer periods of time. Not only can different people and or groups built different things on top of the Hive blockchain, but there's also the second layer Hive Engine environment that adds even more value to this concept.
Microblog applications, trackers, forms of passive income, and literal games, they all add to the gamification of the Hive space. And this expansion could go on forever, and we would never be bored. Wrong! Of course, with almost every blockchain, scalability is not limitless. Just like any other modern system, at some point, things would become too large and slow, or storage and size would be an issue. The number of transactions per unit of time can also be a bottleneck. So, at some point some really smart people would have to break their heads on how to keep everything running smooth and efficient. But that's probably not you and me, or maybe it is, who knows.
But you get the point. Hive is not just addictive because of the rewards system that is at surface level, but also very much because of all of its gamification aspects below the surface, and that's probably why we keep coming back.
What are your thoughts on Hive's addictiveness?
Let me know in the comments below. :)
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