🇬🇧I cheated 🤫 ... and now I need to come clean!
Chasing Digital Badges: What Does Your Streak Really Say About You?
Some housekeeping first:
You will not be able to see both the English and Italian versions here anymore, I have now separated the two languages to make it easier for you, my lovely readers, to find your favourite one on A glimpse of Life home page, and to better categorise them :) If you want the Italian posts, you can find them all here: SEZIONE ITALIANA🇮🇹. If you prefer reading in English, then please keep going with this post.
Yes, as you gathered from the title, I have done something I am not particularly proud of, but we all make mistakes, we are human.. I am confessing that I cheated and I need to come clean about it, but it’s not easy at all. I created this publication to write about experiences, share my knowledge on life and grow together, so my gut said I have to do this, because my mistakes can inspire you, and even myself, to do better in the future.
If you just landed here… welcome! I’m Annalisa, I am a writer and an unconventional mindset trainer. I write all about personal development here at A Glimpse of Life, usually while sitting at my fave desk. All I want is to live a happy, meaningful and simple life, my goal here is to build a community of like-minded people who want more from life, as I do too! This is a safe place to share and feel part of a big family ✨
Click here for more 👉🏻 Annalisa Caminarecci
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Good afternoon my lovely readers.
In November, as an early Christmas present to myself, I finally bought a piano. After years of inconsistent practice, I was determined (and still am) to train seriously. My goal was simple: consistency. Following the YOUSICIAN PRO app’s advice (an app that teaches you the basics of piano), I diligently practised for at least 10 minutes every day since. Things changed mid-February when I began frequenting a co-working space to escape the solitude of working from home which was turning into depression. Being almost every day in an environment that was stimulating and zen at the same time, reinvigorated my social and creative life. The hours fly by and I find myself spending there (actually here, since I am here now writing to you) most of my day. It gave my brain the shock wave it needed, and it became fuller and fuller of ideas. That is actually the reason why I created "A Glimpse of Life"! Although exhilarating, the activity was distracting me from my piano practice. I managed to play at least once a week in the past 2 months, fitting in sessions that lasted between 10 to 30 minutes.
But here's the confession: the last three weeks haven't seen a single key pressed, at least not by my fingers!! Instead, on Sunday nights, the last day available to keep the weekly streak alive, I let the app play one song in the background: each time it’s counted as a session, but I honestly don’t play.
Last Sunday, as I let the app play in the background, without touching the piano, I started to question the value of the streaks and these digital badges the app offers, and the reason why I seem to be so determined to carry on with this '‘digital charade’.
Although I feel a little ashamed for letting this get a little out of hand, this moment of reflection inspired me to write this newsletter for you today.
A brief note to explain ‘streaks’ and ‘digital badges’:
'Streaks' measure consistency, commonly used in apps to indicate consecutive days/weeks/etc an activity has been performed. Maintaining a streak can be motivating as it visually demonstrates commitment and consistency over time. 'Digital badges', on the other hand, are virtual recognitions, like medals, earned for achieving specific milestones within an app. They are designed to reward the user and encourage continued app usage
This is a clip from the last time I played while practising a simple relaxation tune I composed with the help of AI to feature, in the future, in this publication (VIDEO HAS NO SOUND 😜)
I want to unpack all of this with you. As I write this, I am thinking about why I have been doing this for the past 3 weeks. So expect this to be like a stream-of-consciousness piece, with punctuation though! (I don’t want to leave you more confused than when you opened this newsletter, promise!!!)
Initially, the digital badges and streaks on the app felt like true achievements. Each badge earned was like a pat on the back, a visual confirmation of my commitment, I could finally say that I was learning to play the piano, and making progress! Earning 3 gold stars for not making mistakes when playing, reaching the ‘10 pop songs played’ badge, and so on. It’s like these badges tap into our innate desire for recognition and progress. Do you remember the streaks on Snapchat? If you send a daily picture/message every day to one of your contacts, you’d have the fire emoji 🔥 next to their names. When studying for my 4th degree at UCLan, I witnessed 18-year-old students be full-on into this trend (it seems now it’s died down, luckily lol). Though, I wouldn’t have thought, back then, that I would fall into the same digital trap!!
So the questions I would like to reflect on with you today are the following: is a streak a true measure of commitment? What are these streaks worth if they no longer represent real progress? Why am I so desperate to keep this digital charade going? Has it become just another task to tick off?
Is a streak a true measure of commitment?
At first glance, maintaining a streak seems like a way to show commitment. However, when the action becomes a habit, why would we need a streak or a digital badge? It might be due to the value society places on visible signs of progress. Why, otherwise, would digital badges and streaks even exist? (of course, to push users to spend more time on the app, I know). But this way, it looks like learning something new is not about personal satisfaction anymore, but about how we can show off our new skills to others. Jeez, I need to re-evaluate how we measure success and progress in our lives. It all links together, it’s like on FB or IG ... where we measure abilities, progress, and success based on the number of followers or on how much people get paid. That should not be the focus if we want to measure true achievement, we should focus on meaningful progress. And the commitment? Well, that depends on the WHY inside you, the reason why you are doing what you are doing. If you do not have a strong enough why, neither a shiny digital medal nor a “well done for playing 20 weeks in a row” email would make you stick around long term.
What are these streaks worth if they no longer represent real progress?
When I let the app run in the background, I kept the streak but lost the essence of it. This discrepancy between appearance and reality makes me again think about how society formed us. Do we value more symbols of success rather than genuine growth? How often do we find ourselves celebrating the symbol, while the actual development stays behind? Very often! I can give an example: the number of likes or followers on social media (and we are back to the same conclusion as before. Hey, at least I am consistent here 😜). The positive thing is that, slowly, also those platforms have started to focus on engagement, instead of considering only the ‘numbers’. Let’s see where this will lead us in the future. Personally, I prefer Substack in every aspect, including its social side, and I will keep using it :)
Why am I so desperate to keep this digital charade going? … to feel important and not a failure?
This determination to maintain ‘fake proof’ of continuity, might be linked to fear of failing to meet expectations — whether my own or those perceived by others. Surely this way I'm protecting an image of diligence, hiding the most uncomfortable truth of my recent disengagement from the daily/weekly practice 🎹. But reducing what was once a joyful pursuit to a mere item on a checklist just for the sake of it strips it of its joy and purpose. And, this is for sure, I am not looking for endless to-do lists to over-stress about if left unfinished. I am human, I prefer to live with less stress and to feel grateful at night for all the meaningful things I have done that day, who I helped, what I have learned, and how I showed love to others. So, no, a digital badge is not one of the most important things in life, so it would not make sense, based on this conversation we had, to consider it the reason why one can feel successful or a failure. Negative!
It becomes evident that many aspects of our lives are influenced by deeper psychological and social dynamics. Understanding these can help us reclaim our pursuits, making them more meaningful and aligned with our true selves :)
After this structured stream of consciousness, I no longer feel ashamed; instead, I believe I identified the root cause of my struggle. Decisively, I still want to learn to play the piano. I'll rethink my 'why' and continue playing and creating, but on my terms, not dictated by an app!! A badge does not define my progress, nor does a streak define my dedication. I do.
Please share your thoughts by commenting below. Let's transform our reflections into a rich conversation that might inspire us all to reconsider our motivations and achievements. As you ponder these questions yourself, I hope my words encourage you and offer the motivation you need to delve deep into their meanings. We are here to support each other! ☺️ 💪🏻
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I hope with all my heart that we will meet face-to-face someday. Until then, if nobody has told you yet today: you are an amazing person and deserve everything this world has to offer 🤍
Annalisa x
This newsletter is part of the 24Essay Club of Sparkle on Substack by the lovely Claire Venus.
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Very interesting read! 👏
I think also we are hard wired to give more weight to a loss than a gain, and losing a streak can feel like a loss... even though we are no less of a piano player. 😉 😘
I can relate to what you are saying about badges and streaks regarding an app. I was using Duolingo for the longest time to try and learn French but it seemed more like a game format than actually learning the language. They had streaks and badges and hearts that you can lose if you are not consistently using the app. I still want to learn French but I want to utilize another way of learning 💚