Natasha Singer, Can Sweatcoin, a Hot Fitness App, Keep You Off the Couch? The New York Times, January 7, 2018
Monetary Incentive
Where Sweatcoin’s approach differs from others, however, is in taking its ideas from behavioral economics, the study of how psychology and emotions influence our decision-making, to motivate people to exercise more. Its rise comes as insurers and corporate wellness programs are likewise furiously trying incentives — including passing out fitness monitors — to nudge people to improve their behavior.
Mr. Derlyatka said the app aims to overcome our human tendency to choose immediate gratification — like doughnuts or binge-watching videos — over activities like daily exercise that offer long-term benefits. By giving consumers points that can buy goodies, Sweatcoin hopes to incentivize couch potatoes to become more active.
Through the WI lens
Sweatcoin illustrates two things: (1) the premise that “physical movement has economic value” and (2) the power of incentives: nudging people to improve their behavior. Even if the Sweatcoin app comes with severe downsides (as the article shows), the idea to offer a monetary incentive to keep fit will soon gain a lot of traction. Apps will progressively partner with sportswear brands, health services, health insurance firms, environmental groups and various advertisers. They will also invite employers to take part in schemes that encourage their employees to stay fit, or become fitter; possibly with the currency they earn converted into cash and paid alongside their salaries. Innovations like Sweatcoin will keep harnessing the fast-evolving power of technology to improve our health. They have the potential to be powerful solutions to the societal and economic challenges associated with un-wellness, but they also raise profound ethical concerns that range from privacy to security.
As they evolve, these technologies will become more sophisticated, subtler and as a result more invasive. We are not there yet (although the technology already exists), but the day will arrive when companies or governments implant embeddable chips under our skin and use bio-sensing wearable devices to track our activity behaviour.
Pluses (and minuses) Of Positive Thinking
What this article goes on to explain is how positive thinking – described here as ‘thriving’ – can counter the effects that come from the negativity outlined above, from reduced memory to diminished performance. Based on studying people in a series of organisations in different industries, one of the authors has found that people who attain this state are more resilient, experience less burnout, and are more confident in their ability to take control of a situation
Working With Nature
“Behind the jargon what this is really about is how we address the challenge of biodiversity under threat, move away from fossil materials like plastic and concrete, and use nature in a sustainable way, all of which could be summed up by “living in harmony with nature”.”
Resetting Company Culture
“In the new ‘consensual contract’ between employer and worker, what’s required is a commitment from the employer to safeguard the wellbeing of their people, and a commitment in return from employees to take personal responsibility for their performance of their job.”
Countering Loneliness
“Could loneliness not only be damaging our mental and physical health but also be making the world a more aggressive, angry place? And if so, what are the implications for a cohesive society and democracy?”
Staking The Moral High Street
“On such fragile foundations are built the first steps towards a more ethical kind of business, and who knows what virtuous circles might result?”
Breathe Easy
“Scientific evidence recently emerged that, contrary to earlier beliefs, Covid-19 can be spread by tiny droplets that we breathe out when we respire, called aerosols.”
Why Obesity Needs Weighty Solutions
“Economic wellbeing is part of the story, but it is also about finding less stressful lifestyles, in which healthy diet figures as a meaningful measure of success.”
Pulling Together Out Of Lockdown
“The industry has every asset needed to be a guiding light in the shift toward personal health priority. Will that become a prevention legacy, a ‘phoenix rising’ from the Covid-19 ashes?”
Opening The Right Doors
“Looking at the bigger picture, putting the measures in this order represents a lost opportunity that the pandemic could have offered for a cultural pivot pivot towards getting people more focused on their health, a powerful statement of intent.”
Home (working) Truths
“Employment is necessary to fulfil our most basic human needs such as food and shelter. Any significant increase in long-term unemployment will spell a retrograde step for human wellbeing like no other.”