When it comes to modern technology, it’s not every day that a website leaves people glued to their devices, coming back for more. Designed to challenge the individual, Wordle is similar to most crossword puzzles, except that it can only be played once a day. With a new worldle available every 24 hours, players are tasked with demystifying it each day.
In recent months, Wordle has consumed peoples’ attention spans, taken over social media, and found its way into household conversations. The engineering and unique structure behind the website makes users question what sets it aside from most crossword games.
With over 300,000 users returning daily, Wordle offers details and components of the game itself that leave people addicted and hungry for more. Wordle is constructed in a way where every user is offered the same information and are given the same task. According to Mark Serrals and Daniel Van Boom of Cnet.com, “You only get one shot at the Wordle. If you mess up, you will have to wait until tomorrow to get a brand new puzzle.” Offering users one shot at the game, Wordle’s addictive nature becomes even more compelling, making users feel as though they are obligated to crack the word of the day faster than others.
While Wordle’s unique gaming model and simple approach may be what propelled it to success, it’s how the game is affecting conversation among users that provides the website with this boundless attraction.
Not surprisingly, Wordle has generated quite the competitive user community, as players compete over who reached the daily word faster. With reference to the same source, it states, “If you get it easily, maybe in the second or third try, there’s a gloating element whereby you must show your followers how smart you are and share.” As if social media hasn’t already made itself a fierce space for flaunting unnecessary means of success, Wordle’s growth is mainly due to users’ interest in showing off how quickly they could determine the word.
The website’s ability to present a straightforward task only further complements the competitive nature it delivers to its users, especially when it comes to knowledge of words and grammar. Human psychology attempts to justify this outbreak and bring it to light in a greater context.
Taking a deeper look at why individuals’ brains strive for success with Wordle and hold it against themselves to crack the word faster, it’s possible that there might be an explanation for all of this. Identified as a game of challenge, connection, and dopamine, Wordle can be viewed socially and mentally. According to Krystal Jagoo of Mental Health News offered by VeryWellMind, it states, “Wordle challenges your brain, fosters community, and even provides a daily hit of dopamine triggered by a sense of personal achievement.”
Moving past the unmatched gaming complex and atmosphere that Wordle offers its users, the website’s origin may have more to do with its success than people realize. With Wordle coming out at a very confusing and stressful time in society, many suggest that the benefits of Wordle to the individual are just what the doctor ordered.
Identified as becoming the pandemic survivor’s addiction, it’s the sleek nature of the website that keeps more and more people arriving at the game. With the pandemic affecting so many for so long, Wordle has offered an easy, simple, and addictive task for those interested. According to the same source, it states, “And it’s those little moments of being proud of our accomplishments…that are essential to our mental health during yet again another grim covid winter.”
While the popularity of Wordle in the United States becomes more visible by the day, the website itself has reached far beyond the nation, making a name for itself in numerous other countries. From meaningful connections to captivating debates, Wordle will continue to take over the world.