Lookalike avatars encourage exercise

Lookalike avatars encourage exercise

You’re more likely to imitate the behavior of an avatar in real life if it looks like you:

Researchers found that study participants who saw their own avatars running were more likely to exercise after they left the lab than participants who saw someone else’s avatar exercising or saw themselves hanging out in a virtual room.

And:

Seeing their face on an avatar was the driving factor. “If they saw a person they didn’t know, they weren’t motivated to exercise. But if they saw themselves, they exercised significantly more,” she says.

There are similar implications for us at the desk and office.