Our recent research paper into Snapchat's gamification features shows that some of the respondents are experiencing negative effects. Think of the feeling of pressure and  having more screen time than desired. The results of the research support the importance of freedom of choice on large online platforms. Young people need to have more control over where their attention is going, what they are seeing and what they are displaying of themselves online. We therefore want to use the report to advise policy makers on guidelines on gamification on social media.

Snapchat is widely used by teenagers as a message service. But besides chatting, Snapchat offers many other features. Some of those features can be classified as gamification functions; the Snapstreak, Friends-emojis and the Snapscore.

Previous research shows that gamification functions play a role in attracting and retaining the attention of users. For example, research from  Monge Rofarello et al. (2023) talks about attention capturing patterns. Users' attention is exploited, leading them to spend longer on a platform than they want. This is accompanied by loss of awareness of time and regret afterwards. Moreover, these patterns can facilitate or even reward excessive smartphone use.

We investigated whether young people, who may be extra sensitive to these patterns than adults, experience such negative effects when using Snapchat gamification features. The focus was on:

• Snapstreak: counts each consecutive day that two users send each other a Snap. The number appears on their chat, accompanied by a fire emoji. When one of the users misses a day, the streak is broken.
• Friend emojis: These emojis appear on a chat with another user and are assigned based on the interaction they have with each other. For example, there is a Friend emoji indicating whether two users are "besties", which means they send each other the most Snaps.
• Snapscore: This score is on the user's profile, visible to friends. The more activity on the app, the more points are added to their score.
• Games in chat conversations: When recording a Snap, the user chooses a lens (a sort of filter) with a game built in. The receiver can answer this Snap with the same lens, in order to compete in the game.

Why this research paper?

With this research, we want to create more insight into the impact of these gamification features on young people; what significance do they have in their social life and what influence do these features have on the estimation of their own screen time?

This helps us provide policy advice and underpin our position on the upcoming European regulation on addictive elements of social media: the Digital Fairness Act (DFA). We argue that techniques aimed at constantly attracting and retaining attention from users undermine their autonomy. That is why we advocate that users should have freedom of choice when using these functions.

How did we perform this research?

We conducted both quantitative and qualitative research among young people aged between 13 and 21. This meant that we asked 300 young people questions in an online questionnaire and interviewed eight young people. This enabled us to make statements about percentages of the target group who had a certain experience and to provide underlying explanations. In both studies, the questions were about screen time on Snapchat, their experiences with the Snapstreak, Friend Emojis, the Snapscore and games on Snapchat, how they affect their screen time, and if they want to be able to choose whether or not to use these features.

Important findings about the young people from this research

• Although most young people are satisfied with their screen time on Snapchat, some (26% of respondents) find it is too high. This is mainly due to the many messages they receive and want to view from friends, and the pressure they feel from their friends to respond quickly.
• If young people were able to choose which gamification features they want to use, more than half of the interviewees wouldn't choose Friends-emojis, the Snapscore and games in chat conversations. A substantial proportion (42% of respondents) would also choose to get rid of the Snapstreak.
• This while most young people (40% of the respondents) are neutral about the idea of getting more freedom of choice when it comes to gamification features in Snapchat, for example by being able to turn them on and off. Some explain that, if one does not like or does not want to use these functions, they simply do not have to pay attention to them. But others think that it would be good for young people who are more sensitive to it, and indicate that this was true for them when they were younger.
• Some of the young people (33% of those with a Snapstreak) experience that the Snapstreak affects their screen time. With many, the continuation of the Snapstreak happens automatically, because they chat and Snap with their friends daily. But for some, extending Snapstreaks is actually a reason to open Snapchat every day. Sometimes it's just about not losing the streak, instead of wanting to share something with the other person. For example, they take a picture while they cover the camera, so the interaction actually has little meaning. Then they are distracted by other parts in the app or on their phone. The Snapstreak can really work as a trigger to be on their phones, without adding much value.
• Many young people are actively maintaining Snapstreaks (86% of respondents). Among other things, this is due to the fact that they find it a waste to break a high streak because it takes a lot of time to reach the same number again. They also feel pressure from others to extend the streak: they are afraid to disappoint them and sometimes get actively reminded by the other person. They also think it is a nice representation of how long they are friends with each other, and it takes little effort to extend the streak.
• Moreover, 51% of those who have Snapstreaks, would feel bad if the other person breaks the Snapstreak. 25% of them have paid at least once to restore a broken Snapstreak (that costs €0.99 per series).
• Young people who were part of the research care less about the other gamification features (Friend Emojis, Snapscore and Games in chat conversations) and these therefore have minimal influence on their screen time. However, these elements cause some users to compare themselves with others and to judge others. For example: some try to maintain the status of '#1 best friends' by continuing to send each other the most Snaps (Friends Emojis). To some, it feels like a waste to lose this status, just like the Snapstreaks. If they do lose the Friend Emoji, they get curious with whom the other person is now "best friends". With regard to the Snapscore, there are certain stigmas to having a very low or very high Snapscore. A low Snapscore indicates a fake account or having no friends, and a high score indicates someone who flirts with a lot of different people. The latter is considered particularly negative for women.

Conclusion and recommendations

The majority of participants in this study do not notice any significant effect of the specific gamification features (in isolation) on their screen time. This aligns with previous research into addictive design. This showed that the emergence of an addiction is highly dependent on the person, and that a specific design technique alone (such as a gamification feature) can not be assigned as 'addictive'. Instead, it involves the interplay of all design choices within an app that can stimulate excessive smartphone use.

Although the majority of respondents do not experience a negative impact of the gamification features, it is important to pay attention to the group that is affected. Some of them experience more pressure and screen time on Snapchat than they want. Legislation and policy should protect vulnerable groups. Our recommendations are:

• Define gamification features on social media platforms in legislation;
• Make gamification features on social media optional;
• Provide transparent information to users about how gamification features work.

Next steps

The upcoming European Digital Fairness Act offers an excellent opportunity to include measures on gamification for social media. The purpose of this law is to formulate measures surrounding manipulative and addictive design on online platforms. We have send this research report to policy makers so they can take the results into consideration when developing this law.

 Read the full report here.