THE BIG ISSUE

I’ve written an article for The Big Issue which is available in the physical magazine this week (9^th – 15^th June 2025) – ‘Apps can make us better citizens – but there’s also a cost’. It’s available for free online, with a different title ‘Should you be rewarded for throwing litter away? How gamification is reimagining good citizenship‘, but the same written content and original illustration.

This short article is based on my original academic paper ‘The Gamification of Citizenship’ published in the Scottish Geographical Journal in January 2025 (online) – abstract below.

The opportunity to write for The Big Issue and wider public audience has been exciting – it’s a fantastic organization and great magazine.

Mills, S. (2025, earlyview) The Gamification of Citizenship, Scottish Geographical Journal

This paper outlines the ‘gamification of citizenship’ through a focus on digital rewards, participation and volunteering. In recent years, a proliferation of mobile apps have incentivised behaviour change in various contexts such as health and sustainability. The growth of ‘gamification’ (using elements of game design in non-gaming contexts) in these popular mobile apps is now making ‘good citizenship’ a game to play, with real prizes to be won. A range of apps tackle urgent social and economic issues, such as ‘gamifying’ reducing household energy use to tackle the energy crisis, or to reward volunteering. This paper discusses the wider implications of this new trend for debates on citizenship and raises important questions about the use of gambling style techniques within apps for ‘social good’.