It’s winter time - cold, dreary and SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) kicks in for a lot of us out there. Being at home more often because of the weather has turned myself and others into gamers. Whether it’s a single player casual game to multiplayer world domination type games, the gaming space has seen an enormous increase and it’s being applied to many parts of our learning experiences.
Take Duolingo for example; the popular online learning platform used all over the world to learn new languages. It involves all the attributes of a traditional language course including offering various learning modes, having prompts for the learner and practice sessions; but it also incorporates some of the traditional gaming elements we’re familiar with from the video games of our childhoods.
You can have ‘learning streaks’ and earn ‘Lingots’ to swap for benefits on the platform. There’s also a leaderboard so you can view your ranking with other learners, which is a nice incentive to continue learning. Essentially, learning a new language is seen as fun and playful versus a rigid course set in a traditional classroom setting. Another advantage is the fact the platform works around your schedule and is available for desktop and mobile.
If you want to test the waters with learning a new language, check out Duolingo. Using the link won’t cost you anything and will help support our work.
OK but how can this be applied to women going through menopause?
Game development is moving more and more into the health and wellness space. We’ve already become used to casual games that focus on improving our memory so the natural progression would be to emphasize the community component of gaming and intersect that with menopause support.
There’s also the educational opportunity that can be “played” out in games that focus on menopause management. While we know the information available is already limited for women entering menopause, gaming provides the perfect vessel to passively provide evidence based information while also offering entertainment and community to women all over the world.
Minecraft is able to gain over 100 minutes a day from its players; which is not only impressive but also encouraging as it shows the ability to have people connect for a long period of time over a shared interest.
Think of the potential of interacting with other women going through menopause while also being entertained by a fantasy world where I don’t know - there’s no stigma of going through this stage of your life and where you can embrace your menopause symptoms.
Visualize creating a flame inspired avatar, living in an icy kingdom where you can use your fire breathing talents to melt competitors. 😆
We’ve seen games that address mental health issues and there’s definitely elements of gaming that can lend itself to building tools to support women in menopause.
Minecraft is able to gain over 100 minutes a day from its players
Community, community and community!
It’s easy to underestimate the community that can be built through gaming. Just like the stereotypes or cliches we hear about women going through menopause; gaming is also filled with empty cliches; a bunch of teenagers doing nothing but playing games that although stimulating, can be seen as complete nonsense for those who don’t partake.
There’s power in being able to connect with people with a shared interest or being in a similar situation and in this case, connecting with other women who may feel isolated in their own menopause journey. Sure there’s no doubt that connecting with people in person has its benefits but the online gaming space offers swiftness, entertainment and high engagement when it comes to meeting new people.
As more companies are addressing the huge market of women in menopause (YAY!), it’ll be interesting to see if any of them branch out to the gaming universe.
Most turn to gaming as a distraction and also a form of relaxation so it just seems inevitable that the creation of a fantasy world that puts menopause in the forefront could be the next thing in healthcare.
Here’s to leveling up our knowledge in menopause and creating spaces where we can discuss this journey freely.