The use of tracking meters, popularized by apps such as Duolingo and Snapchat to reward their most dedicated users, has become widespread. However, addiction specialists and psychologists have raised concerns.
Streak addiction is real, I had one Snapchat streak years ago that was over 1500, the person it was with and I would send one snap a day of nothing really just to keep the streak going. It got to the point that the one snap was the only time I communicated with that person, and it was honestly a relief when the streak finally lapsed. I had a few times where I was camping with no signal and would literally go on hikes with no destination just to find phone signal to send my daily snap to them.
Number go up makes monkey brain happy, even when you’re aware of how dumb it is.
My duolingo streak addiction made me fucking miserable, but I just couldn’t stop. I knew that breaking it would plunge me into a horrible depressive state. I finally broke free after finishing the diamond league and make peace with “good enough”. I haven’t been able to use duolingo ever since, because there’s apparently no way of just using duolingo normally without gamification.
I’m switching over to Babbel when my duo subscription lapses in the fall, much less gamified, actual human speakers for the language I want to learn, and they aren’t trying to shovel AI into everything like duo is
Streak addiction is real, I had one Snapchat streak years ago that was over 1500, the person it was with and I would send one snap a day of nothing really just to keep the streak going. It got to the point that the one snap was the only time I communicated with that person, and it was honestly a relief when the streak finally lapsed. I had a few times where I was camping with no signal and would literally go on hikes with no destination just to find phone signal to send my daily snap to them.
Number go up makes monkey brain happy, even when you’re aware of how dumb it is.
My duolingo streak addiction made me fucking miserable, but I just couldn’t stop. I knew that breaking it would plunge me into a horrible depressive state. I finally broke free after finishing the diamond league and make peace with “good enough”. I haven’t been able to use duolingo ever since, because there’s apparently no way of just using duolingo normally without gamification.
I’m switching over to Babbel when my duo subscription lapses in the fall, much less gamified, actual human speakers for the language I want to learn, and they aren’t trying to shovel AI into everything like duo is
Check out mango. Its pleasant and has a really nice interface.
You can use your library card for free premium access.
Sucks that you have to create a login to search if your library is included. I don’t care enough to create a login for something I might not use
My library district actually just got access to Mango in May, I downloaded it, but I haven’t had a chance to try it
Thanks!