Esports is a billion-dollar industry that is growing rapidly. Youth are presented with countless opportunities in an industry that didn’t even exist at the beginning of this short century. Professional esports athletes are making salaries comparable to athletes in other professional sports. Esports organizations are being valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Companies are seeing esports as a legitimate investment, marketing or otherwise. Despite this, there is still a reluctance to expose youth to esports. There is still a negative stigma attached to video games.
Many see video games as this evil, addicting students and pulling them away from their studies and social life. This perception exists for good reason. Because it is largely true. Playing games can pull students away from their studies. Often, playing games leads students to become uninterested in their educational success. Furthermore, it is often a lonely experience, sitting at a desk in front of a monitor for countless hours. Social skills are definitely not being developed in this setting. Even though these are the experiences of many gamers, they are not inherent to gaming itself. With minor changes in the school system, the impact that gaming has on students could become positive rather than negative. This is especially true with esports.
What are esports? Are there opportunities?
Esports are “electronic sports”, A form of structured competition between players of video games. Esports competitions are popular events, often streamed to millions of people around the world. This industry is one that has had explosive growth in the past few years. Viewership has been growing 10% annually for the past few years. There is no doubt that this is a new section of the entertainment industry. Like anything new, esports can be controversial.
Defining competitive video games as a sport is extremely controversial. However, most of this can be attributed to a misunderstanding on the line between athlete and casual player. Just look at traditional sports. An athlete is someone who competes in a structured and competitive way. If I just played pickup basketball every now and then, I would definitely not be considered an athlete. But if I played on a club team, had a training schedule to improve and stay competitive, I would definitely be considered an athlete. If I was good enough, I could even go pro! The same is true for video games. If I were just casually playing with my friends every Sunday afternoon, I am most definitely not an athlete. But if I were on a competitive team, who participated in the structured competition, that’s when that line could be crossed. And in the current state of the esports industry, there’s a real opportunity for those athletes to become professionals.
Esports has become increasingly mainstream as the industry grows. In fact, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has announced an Olympics sponsored event that will occur leading up to the 2020 summer Olympics. Furthermore, esports has been accepted by many educational institutions around the world. In Denmark, esports in high school is common, as is in many areas of the United States. More than 250 post-secondary schools in the US have esports programs. Many of these schools offer scholarships.
There are opportunities out there in this industry. Unfortunately, many gamers are not exposed to this positive side of esports.
How can schools deal with this modern, changing student demographic?
Youth are very impacted by their schooling. School can have a positive impact on gamers. If schools treated esports as any other sport, many of the issues related to gaming can be corrected. Encouraging competitiveness can create healthy habits for students who often feel unmotivated in their studies. Furthermore, by treating esports as a sport, gamers will have an extra incentive to do well in school (so that they can continue competing). By encouraging competitiveness through a school club, could help develop the social skills of the students who are generally seen as most anti-social. Competitive video games have the potential to facilitate friendships, it just has to be used effectively by the school system. Lastly, an esports club or team would expose countless students to the opportunities in this industry, the millions that are available in scholarships, and the great variety of career opportunities. In some schools, there are already esports clubs.
I have personally experienced the impact of esports in school. There is an esports club at the high school I attend. It is one of the most positive, supportive, and diverse environments I’ve been in. To me, it’s clear that esports is an area schools need to explore.
thank you George, very cool!