A4 Refereed article in a conference publication

A Longitudinal Analysis of Gamification in Untappd: Ethical Reflections on a Social Drinking Application;




AuthorsMolleri, Jefferson; Hyrynsalmi, Sami; Hakkala, Antti; Kimppa, Kai K.; Smed, Jouni

EditorsN/A

Conference nameInternational Workshop on Dark Software Engineering

Publication year2026

Book title DSE '26 : Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Dark Software Engineering

First page 14

Last page21

ISBN979-8-4007-2398-8

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1145/3786166.3788434

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingOpen Access

Publication channel's open availability Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.1145/3786166.3788434

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/526903621

Self-archived copy's licenceCC BY

Self-archived copy's versionPublisher`s PDF


Abstract

This paper presents a longitudinal ethical analysis of Untappd, a social drinking application that gamifies beer consumption through badges, streaks, and social sharing. Building on an exploratory study conducted in 2020, we revisit the platform in 2025 to examine how its gamification features and ethical framings have evolved. Drawing on traditional ethical theory and practical frameworks for Software Engineering, we analyze five categories of badges and their implications for user autonomy and well-being. Our findings show that, despite small adjustments and superficial disclaimers, many of the original ethical issues remain. We argue for continuous ethical reflection built embedded into software lifecycles to prevent the normalization of risky behaviors through design.


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Last updated on 10/08/2026 07:55:28 AM