Do you have a moment to increase world awesome? Game-based engagement with social change

Abstract

Altruistic, prosocial activities intended for social change are essential to the continuance of societies. These activities, however, require time, coordination and re-direction of resources toward communal rather than individual goals. With the prevalence of hedonism in many societies, recruiting participants and getting resources for altruistic, prosocial activities have become challenging. This chapter draws a parallel between playing of (video) games and engagement with altruistic, prosocial activities. We argue that both can and often do involve similar mechanics and psychological rewards. Accordingly, we examine two examples of social change communities that have managed to remain active and affect a level of social change over an extended period of time. The two communities examined, Nerdfighteria and a Change.org campaign for the "Bilo family" in Australia, are of similar social purposes, although of different sizes and locality. Through this analysis, we highlight how practices of game-based engagement can be utilized to engage individuals with social change.