Video games as spaces for providing information and awareness of algorithmic control in the gig economy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7515185 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marta Fernández-Ruiz (0000-0002-3004-3242, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, corresponding author), Martina Piña (0000-0003-4847-4734, Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Júlia Vilasís-Pamos (0000-0002-2060-4544, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1102-1124 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | New Media & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14614448241307036 |
| OpenAlex | W4406068114 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 26 |
The gig economy has been explored recently in the media through videos, films, and series. Similarly, different video games have shown the ideology, values, and mechanisms that govern the gig economy. This article applies six mechanisms of algorithmic control at work to achieve a dual objective: to analyze how platform workers experience algorithmic control and to examine the extent to which video games, as a medium for raising critical awareness, reflect these workers’ experiences. We analyzed interviews with 42 platform workers in different sectors and six video games that address this topic. Our findings reveal that these games consistently mirror the dynamics and experiences arising from platform control. Furthermore, through specific elements of their meaningfulness (such as narrative, rules systems, and mechanics, among others), video games simulate situations and processes, sometimes opaque to workers, portraying the reality of the gig economy more explicitly and transparently
Control (management · Economics · Economy · Gig economy · Human–computer interaction · Multimedia · Service economy · Computer Science · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Transportation and Mobility Innovations · Artificial Intelligence
Cooperative affordances
Values at Play in Digital Games
Introduction to Game Analysis
Persuasive Games
Newsgames
Platformic Management, Boundary Resources for Gig Work, and Worker Autonomy
Between autonomy and control
The conditioning function of rating mechanisms for consumers in the sharing economy
Understanding the impact of host facial characteristics on Airbnb pricing
Uberland
Ready worker two
Labour process theory and the gig economy
Algorithmic precarity and metric power
Ageing Masculinities and 'Muscle work' in Hollywood Action Film
Riders on the Storm
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |