Why I Stopped My 101-Day TryHackMe Streak#
I stopped my 101 days TryHackMe streak and I’m going to tell you why you should do the same.
I am always looking for new ways to improve my learning, this is really important to me. I even think that learning how to learn is just as important as what to learn, because it’s an eternal process that never ends.
Recently Chocapikk (go check his work) sent an interesting video of Waked XY (on of the biggest French-speaking cybersecurity content creators out there), called “Le piège Duolingo a envahi la cybersécurité” or “Duolingo trap has invaded the cybersecurity” in English.
When I clicked on the video, I knew what this was going to be about because I was trapped myself into this loop.
The Duoligo Trap#
You wanted to learn a new language, French, Japanese or Arabic and the first thing you did is to download the Duolingo app, because their marketing is good and why not? It’s gamified after all, you just have to “play” everyday, increase your streak, earn your badges and maybe in 2/3 months you will be able to travel to Japan and speak Japanese right?
That was the promise but you know it’s not true. Because you did everything right and you can’t recall half of what you have learned with Duolingo. If it’s not you, it’s maybe your friend. If it’s not your friend just take a look of what people are saying on the Internet (it’s not always the best advice but this time this is valid).
You may ask how it’s related to cybersecurity and my 101 days streak on TryHackMe.
The Cybersecurity Gamification#
The Bad#
I’ll tell you how it is related. The major cybersecurity platforms like TryHackMe are gamified too and it became a problem. It was supposed to facilitate your learning journey but it is counterproductive.
In the video I mentioned earlier, Waked received an Instagram DM from a guy who completed the Junior Penetration Tester path in 1 month but that guy was disappointed by his learning because he neglected the skills and rushed the path because of the instant gratification. He wanted the points, the streaks and so on.
I felt like I was the subject of the video, because I know that I have adopted this behavior, way before the video and I know that I’m not alone. We are often attracted by the shiny things. You see Mr l33t haxor with thousands days of streaks, he blitzed all the THM paths, he got the certificates of completion, he got 3 new badges in few days, he is in the top 1% and you maybe felt a little bit jealous seing that or your impostor syndrome kicked hard and I can’t blame you for that.
The Good#
Dont’t get me wrong here, I don’t think that gamification is inherently bad. It’s even the opposite. Playing is a wonderful way to learn, there are dozens of examples, I mean the entire concept of capturing a (real) flag comes a game aiming to improve endurance, observation, strategy, speed and stealth.
What I’m Doing Differently Now#
Now it’s simple, I just don’t care. I used to have the pressure of losing my streak and it became toxic. I felt it like a chore or a second job. Now it’s secondary, I don’t look at it. I lost a 101 days streak? And so what? I explored new things, new sources of learning, new concepts. I touched grass, I enjoyed time with my friends and family, all of that without having the pressure of “today I have to show up” and it’s 100x time better for my learning process than to increase a number next to my profile picture.
What Should You Do#
We, as humans, tend to have this primitive thinking “shiny object = good, he has shiny object, me don’t have shiny object, me = not good”. But trust me this is not true AT ALL and your value doesn’t depend on which rank you are on TryHackMe, cybersecurity is far bigger than that.
The shiny objects I’m talking about are nothing compared to the actual knowledge you should be gaining. You’re in the top 1%? That’s awesome. But can you actually list the different stages of a penetration test without looking at a cheat sheet?
In my opinion you shouldn’t bother with all of that. Unless you are sure to have your dream job with that.
I’m repeating myself again but you should be enjoying the process of learning, this is a part of the hacker culture. There are other ways to get that feeling of gratification:
- Create content: Start a blog or share on social media.
- Keep a lab notebook: If public content isn’t your thing, just write down “Today I learned…” in a notebook. You will thank yourself in a few months or years.
- Change your mindset: Learn to take a step back when needed. Deep dive into a topic you like, consult various sources, and experiment.
Note: I mentioned TryHackMe but it’s the same for every other platforms.
Conclusion#
Gamification in itself is not bad, but over-gamification is killing your learning by putting you in a loop where you work for the rewards that were supposed to make your learning journey easier instead of the sake of learning itself.
Thanks for reading this, don’t forget to like and share the IG post I’ve made.
A big shoutout to Chocapikk for sending the Youtube video to Waked for his work, it’s good to have content creators talking about real problems.
Knowledge is the end, not the means. Stop collecting trophies and start building skills.
Never stop learning.
hOneyp0t