What if your daily walk could unlock a new chapter of a story?
Most fitness apps are built around numbers: steps, distance, calories, goals, and display and array of charts. These metrics can be useful, but they don’t always provide the motivation people need to stay active over time. Storytelling on the other hand could offer a powerful way to make physical activity more enjoyable, meaningful, and socially engaging.
A compelling story can give users a reason to keep moving and creates an inherent sense of progress. In a sea of metrics the most engaging health interventions may be those that combine the measurable benefits of fitness tracking with the emotional power of narrative.
As part of a study I created last year I developed StoryWalk to explore these ideas. The concept is deceptively simple, as you walk you unlock the next part of the story. It’s a layer of physical gameficiation that can help to motivate someone to take the next step.
My research suggests that story-driven fitness could be a way to engage more people in daily movement.
The possibilities are exciting:
- Step and distance metrics (obvs)
- Story clubs and group challenges
- Individual and collective progress tracking
- Author spotlights
- Exclusive stories from publishers
- Public-domain content
- Themed journeys and long-read activities
- Personalised story recommendations
- Progress visualisations
Users could explore public domain works in a new bite sized way, or a publisher could provide exclusive access to new works. Fitness and wellbeing authors could combine their work with actual real-world physical benefits. When users are following a character, progressing through a world, contributing to a group goal, or discovering a new author, physical activity can become part of something larger than a daily metric.
Here’s a summary of the paper…
The prevalence of high-stress sedentary lifestyles represents a significant public health concern, despite the benefits of physical movement to overcome these affects it’s often difficult to find the motivation to begin. I aimed to discover if story-driven digital interventions can be designed to enhance motivational engagement in promoting sustained physical activity. In other words, can digitally delivered episodic storytelling influence adherence to daily walking routines among sedentary workers?
Participants tested a story-based fitness app prototype, engaged in a walking activity while providing pre- and post-intervention feedback on usability and engagement via questionnaires.
The findings suggest that narrative-driven fitness interventions have strong potential to enhance user engagement and motivation for physical activity. While initial skepticism about storytelling’s impact on exercise motivation was noted, 71% of participants found a narrative approach enjoyable. Feedback highlighted the appeal of unlocking stories during activity, but participants recommended longer, diverse narratives, audio narration, and personalisation options. Social features were seen as crucial for fostering community and accountability. Although awareness of narrative-driven fitness tools was limited, the positive reception of the prototype underscores the promise of combining storytelling with features like data tracking, customisation, and social interaction to create a novel and engaging fitness experience.
Many people work in cognitively demanding but physically inactive jobs, contributing to sedentary lifestyles linked to chronic diseases and reduced well-being. According to the World Health Organisation in 2020 (WHO), 27.5% of adults and even 81% of adolescents do not meet the recommended physical activity levels.
To address this, many people turn to fitness apps, which often focus on data-driven metrics or lifestyle improvements, such as Strava or Nike Running. However, successful interventions don’t necessarily need to rely on metrics. Apps that simply encourage regular movement through motivational elements, such as storytelling, could be just as effective. Studies have demonstrated that simple physical movement is a successful driver for health, encompassing both physical and mental well-being. Chaput et al. emphasised the importance of integrating all movement behaviours, including light-intensity physical activity, into daily routines to combat public health issues (Chaput et al., 2014).
Narrative has emerged as a powerful tool in motivating individuals to engage in physical activity, particularly through its ability to resonate emotionally and provide relatable contexts for behaviour change. Research indicates that storytelling can effectively convey health information and model behaviours that promote physical activity. Castro et al. highlight how characters in narratives can reflect common barriers to behaviour change, thereby modelling healthy physical activity, which can motivate individuals to adopt similar behaviours in their own lives (Castro et al., 2023). Thompson et al. highlight that stories and characters in exergames can motivate children aged 8-11 to engage in physical activity, suggesting that narrative elements are useful for enhancing engagement and motivation in this demographic (Thompson et al., 2016).
The application of storytelling in digital formats, such as the Go Run Go Android game, demonstrates how narrative elements can be effectively used to motivate users to initiate and maintain exercise routines (Mansart et al., 2015).
Storytelling emerges as a significant driver of physical motivation across various contexts. By creating relatable narratives that resonate with individuals’ experiences, storytelling can enhance engagement in physical activity, facilitate behaviour change, and promote overall health and wellness.
The Perfecto Project, part of Stanford’s research on narrative-based fitness apps, uses culturally resonant storytelling to motivate physical activity and engage overlooked populations. The project highlights the importance of diverse, inclusive storytelling in crafting meaningful and effective digital experiences. They found that multi-chapter narratives can boost physical activity levels as well as engagement with both the system and its story (Murnane et al., 2020). Zombies, Run! is an immersive running game. Users run while listening to audio narrations that gradually reveal the story. Using this app people were more motivated to run (Moran et al., 2015).
Research Methods
Eight participants, representing a mix of genders and ages were recruited. Participants targeted had a sedentary work pattern.
The study consisted of three phases: a pre-intervention questionnaire, an interaction with a story-based app prototype, and a post-intervention questionnaire. The pre-intervention phase collected baseline data on fitness levels, daily routines, and prior experiences with fitness apps.
Participants then tested a Figma-based prototype via a smartphone browser. The prototype featured story snippets that unlock as participants walk short distances in a controlled environment. Prototype features include a story display, step counter, progress visualisation, and an “unlock next part” button.
Finally, post-intervention feedback was gathered via a questionnaire to assess usability and engagement
Discussion
These findings suggest that a story-driven or narrative based intervention could be used effectively to motivate users to engage in physical activity. Based on this group of participants there is a clear desire for engaging story-based digital experiences. While only a quarter of participants initially believed that storytelling might enhance their motivation to exercise, 71% felt that a narrative-based approach could make physical activity more enjoyable. This indicates a strong potential interest in integrating stories into fitness routines.
Narrative elements in fitness apps was not a common feature among the apps they had used, but one participant mentioned the story-driven running app Zombies Run!, which suggests a small potential awareness of narrative-driven fitness tools.
Participants indicated that story-telling elements need to be augmented with data capturing to provide a more detailed overall view of the health intervention.
Many participants suggested incorporating different types of stories, such as classic public domain works and stories by emerging authors. A “New Authors” section could offer diverse content and potentially compensate authors for their work, which would support both content diversity and user engagement.
There was a strong desire for more customisation and personalisation. Several participants emphasised the need for social features, such as the ability to engage in challenges or create “story clubs” to increase accountability and foster a sense of community. Adding social elements could significantly enhance engagement and motivation.
Though participants valued storytelling, they also wanted traditional fitness app features, like step counts, goal tracking, and visualisation of progress, integrated into the experience.
The concept of combing storytelling with physical activity has significant potential as a novel approach, particularly for users in the millennial age group who are familiar with fitness tracking apps. However, to maximise user engagement and ensure sustained use, the app should integrate features like personalisation, social interaction, and progress tracking, along with options for audio narration.
The Artefact
An artefact was developed to showcase key learnings and outline a potential feature set for a commercial mobile application. This artefact integrates features designed to enhance engagement, promote physical activity, and foster a sense of community. Features like “story clubs” and group challenges, would enable users to connect and collaborate. Leaderboards and group progress tracking would encourage both competitive and cooperative participation. Metrics like step counters and distance would be highly desirable.
Features like author spotlights and exclusive stories would provide variety and highlight diverse voices. Community activities such as long reads or themed journeys encourage sustained engagement. The app also incorporates out-of-copyright stories, ensuring a broad range of accessible content while prioritising inclusivity and variety in storytelling. By aligning these features with evidence from research, the artefact demonstrates the potential for a mobile application to motivate and sustain physical activity through the power of storytelling and community engagement.
References
Chaput, J., Carson, V., Gray, C., & Tremblay, M. S. (2014). Importance of all movement behaviors in a 24 hour period for overall health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(12), 12575-12581. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph111212575
Mansart, C., Sukitphittayanon, S., Pantongkhum, P., & Thaicharoen, S. (2015). Go run go: an android game-story application for aiding motivation to exercise.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ ism.2015.49
Castro, Ó., Mair, J., Salamanca-Sanabria, A., Alattas, A., Keller, R., Zheng, S., … & Kowatsch, T. (2023). Development of “lvl up 1.0”: a smartphone-based, conversational agent-delivered holistic lifestyle intervention for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and common mental disorders. Frontiers in Digital Health, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1039171
Thompson, D., Cantu, D. A., Rajendran, M., Rajendran, M., Bhargava, T., Zhang, Y., … & Deng, Z. (2016). Development of a teen-focused exergame. Games for Health Journal, 5(5), 342-356. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2016.0035
Perfecto Project (2024) Perfecto Project. Stanford University. Available at: https://perfectoproject.stanford.edu/ (Accessed: 26 November 2024).
Murnane, E.L. et al. (2020) ‘Designing Ambient Narrative-Based Interfaces to Reflect and Motivate Physical Activity’, Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376478.
Chiraphruet Mansart et al. (2015) ‘Go Run Go: An Android Game-Story Application for Aiding Motivation to Exercise’. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/ism.2015.49.
Friman, Usva, and Riikka Turtiainen. 2017. “From Gamification to Funification of Exercise: Case Zombie Run Pori 2015.” GamiFIN Conference, 53–59.
Moran, Martin J., and John M. Coons. 2015. “Effects of a Smart-Phone Application on Psychological, Physiological, and Performance Variables in College-Aged Individuals While Running.” International Journal of Exercise Science 8 (2): 104–11.
Chittaro, Luca, and Francesco Zuliani. 2013. “Exploring Audio Storytelling in Mobile Exergames to Affect the Perception of Physical Exercise.” In Proceedings of the ICTs for Improving Patients Rehabilitation Research Techniques, 1–8. IEEE.
Murnane, Elizabeth L., Xin Jiang, Anna Kong, Michelle Park, Weili Shi, Connor Soohoo, Luke Vink, et al. 2020. “Designing Ambient Narrative-Based Interfaces to Reflect and Motivate Physical Activity.” Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems . CHI Conference 2020 (April). https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376478.
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