Claire Voltarel, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
Twice a day, I and over one million “HQties” tune in for a mere 15 minutes to test our knowledge on topics from anatomy, to business, to history. Our motivation? Prize money won from useless information and luck. HQ, the live trivia game show, appears at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. daily. Former comedian and internet celebrity Scott Rogowsky prompts 12 questions to the audience which get increasingly more difficult. Those to answer all questions correctly split the cash prize of $2,500 dollars.
HQ has taken the country by storm, increasing their millions of participants each show and continuing our societal need for instant gratification with little stakes. The only requirement is downloading the app.
If small financial incentives and bragging rights are all it takes to unite millions of people every single day, companies and organizations may have found a simple solution to raise awareness. Imagine if each HQ show was supporting a cause like cancer research or mental health awareness. During their Super Bowl Half Time game, their message would have spread to over two million people in just the two minutes it takes to log into the game.
This cause-driven mission could benefit HQ in return. With a good cause attached to the show, it is likely a larger number of people would have attempted the game. Additionally, companies sponsoring the game could contribute to the cash prize, also increasing the likelihood of a larger turnout. Organizations would have the opportunity to match, double, etc. the amount the individuals win and donate the funds to their specific mission.
HQ serves as a basic lesson: if you want people to do something for you, make it about them. This idea is found in movements like the Ice Bucket Challenge or any cause involving a social media post. The participation is unconsciously about our own image as much as it is about the promotion of the cause. If we are willing to spend time for the unlikely chance of winning money from guessing to prove something to ourselves or others, attaching additional benefits to someone else boosts our own ego in return. While this perspective is an all-humans-are-inherently-evil view, it is important to examine what is working and why. Clearly, HQ is doing something right and their success could lead us to the next big movement.
Next time you tune in for another trivia game with “Quiz Daddy”, think about the fact that you and one million other people decided to do the same thing at the same time. If it is that easy to unite a society, we may be able to discover a truth to be used for good.