Can web3 incentivize better health? The gamification of healthy living
One of the more common criticisms of web3, or the metaverse, is that it will negatively impact the health of individuals by encouraging them to engage in sedentary lifestyles as they stay inside on their devices, as opposed to going outside and getting active.
While there is certainly some validity to this criticism, and it is something that will need to be creatively problem-solved, one thing that this criticism fails to understand is how web3 technology can be used to better incentivize individuals to live healthy lives.
Gamifying personal health
One of the main reasons individuals fail to engage in healthy activities, such as going to the gym, meditating, or eating a healthy snack, is due to a lack of motivation, right? I can certainly say that this is the case for me personally. It is hard to get up in the morning to go for a run, or to find the motivation after work to hit the gym. This is where web3 can truly be a game changer. Just like how play-to-earn games have disrupted the gaming industry, the same can be true for the personal health industry.
Let’s imagine, for example, that there was a gym-to-earn protocol, where users gained a special token every time they scanned their phone to enter a gym, and based on how much time they spent at the gym. The user could then turn these tokens in for rewards, such as discounted gym memberships, or, in a perfect world, even cash them out for stablecoins of fiat currency, allowing them to earn an income for engaging in this healthy behavior. They could also compete with other users, with leaderboards, special events, or extra prizes being paid out to those who are the most active in any given month.
Think this is unrealistic? Well, there are actually a couple of projects already doing something similar.
StepN
StepN styles itself as a “web 3 lifestyle app with social-fi and game-fi elements,” which enables players to earn cryptocurrency by walking, jogging, or running outdoors.
To take part, users purchase an NFT “sneaker” from the in-app marketplace. There are a variety of sneakers available based on the individuals fitness level, with each containing unique characteristics such as rarity traits, mystery drop boxes, and different earning rates, among other things.
The StepN app uses GPS to measure the distance users walk or run and pays out earnings in their token, which can then be swapped for the USDC stablecoin. Whereas earning income for running was previously reserved only for athletes, StepN enables the average individual to earn a little bit extra for engaging in this healthy behavior.
StepN serves as a great use case for how crypto and a play-to-earn model can incentivize individuals to engage in healthy actions by rewarding them with tokens. To date, Stepn members have already run over 43 billion metres, and burned nearly 3 billion calories.
Ome NFT
Ome NFT, which styles itself as the first ever “Health-to-Earn” NFT, enables holders to earn tokens for engaging in healthy activities, known as “health quests”. Examples of health quests could be something as simple as going to bed at a reasonable time or eating more vegetables.
To take part in the OmeVerse, as they call it, one must first purchase an Ome NFT, or rent one from a holder. Once they have their Ome NFT, users can start accepting health quests, with quest bounties varying based on the rarity and status of the Omes.
Ome NFT has the ultimate goal of saving 1.5 million lives every year by encouraging individuals to engage in more healthy lifestyle choices.
We had the privilege of interviewing the CEO and Co-Founder of Ome NFT, Ian Chong, on the Crypto Altruism podcast. Check out the episode HERE.
Will it catch on?
So, the ultimate question is, will this idea of gamified personal health actually catch on, or is it just another short-lived fad in the web3 space?
Well, as shown above with some of the early stats from StepN, there are plenty of individuals willing to give it a try. In fact, after its initial launch, StepN was growing at such a rapid pace that the team needed to cap the number of new users, with tens of thousands of new users now joining the app every day. What’s also interesting, is how it is attracting individuals who aren’t web3 native, with an estimated 30% of users having never used any other blockchain service previously.
It may be too early to tell exactly what level of impact these play-to-earn health protocols will have, but early indicators suggest that there is something special here. Only time will tell.
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