Ethical concerns

 The outcome of the literature review showed that psychological distress is the most frequently cited ethical concern related to gamification. Sixteen papers documented that user experienced various negative experiences, some of which can be linked with more serious psychological distress, including stress, anxiety, frustration, and feeling of helplessness (Yang & Li, 2021). Based to the reviewed papers, these negative experiences might be caused: for example, by the repeated inability of the user to overcome the challenge (Andrade, 2016); constant preoccupation with monitoring the performance of others (OrdunaMalea et al., 2016); cause data disclosure over the loss of self-consciousness (Trang & Weiger, 2021); and increase pressure on users (e.g., employees) to achieve more (e.g., increase work productivity) (Seo et al., 2021). Five papers documented addictive behavior; these five papers conclude that hyper-using gamified apps to diminish boredom and keep the mind stimulated could be categorized as addictive behavior. In that respect, it is noteworthy that psychological studies which discussed the addictive behavior among the users of video games, specifically the adolescent population, indicated that some game elements and designs might be an essential factor in causing such behavior (Stockdale & Coyne, 2018). On this ground, users of gamification apps with the same designs that video game users use, like immersive designs and gamification-based challenges, might be more vulnerable to addiction. Another harmful aspect of gamification can be in its indirect detrimental outcomes. These might include for example the use of gamification for motivating behaviors that are harmful, such as the sales of substances or encouraging behaviors related to sedentary lifestyles or other extreme behaviors or any behavior in excess. In this vein, three reviewed studies discussed how using gamification might cause physical damage to the user himself or others (Kim & Werbach, 2016). For instance, among 102 harmful apps identified by Ghassemlou and colleagues (2020), 44 of the apps used gamification to promote and sell alcohol and illicit substances (e.g., cocaine, marijuana, and heroin); these apps use game-like features or drinking games to stimulate users' motivation. These discussions imply that while gamification might have been designed neutrally and even virtuously, the purposes and goals of the persuading party may lead to ethical concerns related to the sought-after outcomes of the ‘gamifier’. Thirteen papers documented exploitation, an ethical concern when there is an imbalance of mutual benefits between gamification providers and users, mostly in favor of the providers (Wertheimer, 1999). This kind of exploitation occurs when using gamification in contexts like marketing and the workplace; in the marketing field, for example, companies offer to the users, in most cases, virtual rewards in the form of points, badges, and stars. However, companies get more benefits from users by increasing their engagement; such benefits might be in the form of increased market share, improved brand awareness, improved brand image, and building customer loyalty (Kim, 2015). In the same regard, Seo et al. (2021) discuss that using game elements like points, badges, and leaderboards to gamify the work environment makes employees feel exploited to perform only productive behavior, which causes a sense of boredom and stress. Overall, it can be deduced that exploitation appears to happen because of initial over-valuation of the experience and rewards accrued from gamification contrary to other compensation possibly because of the psychological susceptibility towards game design as a source of engagement and value. Reviewed literature stated that using gamification to increase, for example, employees' productivity or students' engagement could be counterproductive, like demotivation and lack of performance (Kwon & Özpola, 2021; Hammedi et al., 2021). Preoccupation with increasing the number of points, keeping a high position on the leader board, being concerned about their peers' results, and other behaviors related to frantic efforts to win a game, might distract the users' concentration. This distraction will lead users to perform the primary tasks in low quality or become demotivated to continue their vital work (Hammedi et al., 2021). In parallel, seven of the studies we reviewed documented ethical issues related to the manipulation of users. Using gamification as a marketing tool consider a prominent example of the veracity of this claim. By using gamification, companies try to make the consumer journey turn into an attempt to accumulate points, badges, or get discounts; such a transformation might divert the consumer's attention far from the significant aspects of the product, such as quality, product life, and guarantee period. This kind of exploitation of cognitive errors before buying by using gamification and denying consumers a rational purchase decision can be considered a manipulation of consumers' behavior to choose an option that serves the company's interests (Thorpe & Roper, 2019). Thirteen reviewed studies warned of ethical risks related to user data privacy. For most of the apps or websites that use gamification technology, users need to provide personal information like name, email, and phone number. Moreover, the daily life activities of the users are also vulnerable to tracking by some gamified apps, specifically, apps that provide health services and require tracking the user's diet. All this is often accompanied by a lack of opportunities for the users to consent (or reject) the app's privacy policy. Such an unclarity of the fate of users' data might create a state of worry among the users about using their data to achieve undesirable goals or sharing it with unknown parties. In addition to the previously mentioned ethical issues, thirteen reviewed papers reported that using types primarily developed for games to gamifying work tasks or education activities might cause a social overload and strain on users; employees might consider the gamification task as extra work duty, which effects negatively to their performance (Hammedi et al., 2021). Failing to consider the users' needs and characters during the developing stage of gamification design might force users to achieve objectives that are not suited to them (Jacobs, 2020). Furthermore, users are different in their willingness to participate in gamification tasks. For example, some users might enjoy achieving a high level on the leaderboard or collecting more points and badges. However, it could strain those compelled to participate in a gamified experiment (Yang & Li, 2021). Moreover, users who are resistant to being part of gamified activities might face social pressure to force them to join these gamified activities (Algashami et al., 2019). Ethical concerns related to gamification are presented in Table 3.