Senior Citizens as Storytellers: Contribution to Gamified Contexts

Abstract

A global demographic turn is observed with senior citizens increasing in number, resulting on wellbeing concerns. That culminates into challenges and opportunities for creating tools, such as digital storytelling and gamification, to promote senior citizens’ interest and motivation to certain activities. While digital storytelling involves the narrative’s potential to facilitate the construction of meaning and sharing experiences with information and communication technologies’ languages, gamification elements can trigger senior citizens’ motivations. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the potential of digital storytelling in gamification. In this context, an iterative approach involving storytelling narratives and gamification should be designed to enhance cyclotourism experiences. The aim of this position paper is to discuss the senior citizens’ digital storytelling applied to gamified cyclotourism to foster participatory strategies and inclusion, exploring their life story while connecting them with others. In specific, it proposes the delivery of a storytelling sessions model to senior citizens integrated with gamification aspects in the cyclotourism context.