Gamifying the Path to Digital Literacy
Australians are heavy digital users, but many feel unprepared in judging, questioning, or resisting the online content shaping their lives. The challenge is to design a digital solution that makes critical and mindful digital engagement effortless in routine contexts.
The Challenge
Create a digital solution that makes critical and mindful digital engagement effortless in routine contexts for Australians who feel unprepared to judge, question, or resist online content. Our team had 48 hours to design a solution that could meaningfully address this challenge.
Core Insight!
Users already verify information through comments and community discussion, but they lack the critical thinking frameworks to do it effectively. The question wasn't whether to engage users in verification—it was how to teach them while they're already doing it.
The Scale of Misinformation
Source: Australian media literacy research studies (2025)
60%
Gen Z rely on social media for news
74%
18-29 year olds see misinformation weekly
61%
Misinformation comes from Meta platforms
15+ Interview later we found that…
Who We're Designing For
we then created a persona based on the user interviews and the secondary research to solidify our target user.
So our design question is!
Introducing IG Charms
Instagram Charms is a gamification system that rewards users for engaging with educational content about misinformation and critical thinking. When users encounter potentially misleading content, they're invited to participate in quick quizzes that teach verification skills—earning collectible "charms" for their profile in return.
Key Learnings
I learned that while badges can motivate initial engagement, sustained behavior change requires the underlying system to be genuinely valuable. If I had more time, I'd explore how to change Instagram's algorithm to promote trusted content—making the environment itself support critical thinking, not just reward it.
The judge feedback focused on storytelling and connecting our solution back to the brief. A great design poorly communicated loses to a simple concept with compelling delivery. I now understand that selling the "why" is just as important as demonstrating the "what."
Rather than proposing a new app or platform, we worked within Instagram's existing ecosystem. This made our concept more believable and implementable. The best solutions often aren't revolutionary—they're smart integrations into what already works.
The judges raised the innovative gamification approach and understanding of Instagram's ecosystem. Main critique: strengthen the connection between design brief and solution execution—show more clearly how charms drive sustained behavior change.
