At present human and technological development, information technologies are used in all spheres of life, particularly in education, science, work, and everyday life. The informatization process has also affected the gaming industry because today, video games are positioned as more than just a part of the entertainment industry. A great variety of leisure activities turn into the opportunity to earn a living by transforming one’s favorite hobby into a job. One such way in the realm of the gaming arena is eSports.
Cybersport is already a recognized global sports discipline. Its development is constantly going in the direction of becoming more and more popular. This is facilitated not only by the use of modern technology but also due to the gaming technique used by eSportsmen. As a consequence, cybersport is attracting more and more attention, and the impact of cybersport on education is increasingly being questioned. Many believe that gaming distracts from school or university, and students have to address essay writing services like https://payforwriting.com/ to cope with their assignments. It is common to demonize the impact of eSports on academic performance. However, there are several advantages of cybersport in relation to the studying process. And we would like to highlight them in this article.
The growing popularity of gaming
Over the past few years, people have increased the time they spend playing video games. On average, those who do gaming spend seven hours and seven minutes a week on this activity. Gamers between the ages of 26 and 35 have increased their playing time. They spend eight hours and twelve minutes a week playing video games. This leads to an interesting assumption: gamers spend more time on their hobby after graduation. Since they have more spare time, they can use it more the way they want. But even when students spend some time playing video games, it’s not a major problem. Seven hours a week is not too much. In fact, when teachers/tutors realize that cyber sports have a positive impact on education, they may start assigning games as homework. However, in our reality, things are not as simple as the statistics indicate.
Gaming and eSports are not the same things, and this matter requires more consideration than it seems. Gaming is when a person devotes more than three hours a day to the games, but most importantly, the fact that there is no purpose behind it; that is, one plays the game for the sake of interest and curiosity and does not consider what can be achieved through games as a sports field. On the contrary, as in any sport, to become a professional cyber sportsman, it is necessary to pay a lot of attention, time, and effort to acquire technical skills.
How do eSports affect academic performance?
Cybersports improve cooperation and friendships among students
Well, cybersport is a very interesting activity. Playing video games has a competitive environment underneath it. When a school/college/university builds a team with a highly professional approach, they will compete internationally in the game of their choice. It’s serious work with dedicated players, managers, sponsors, and fans.
Maryville St. Louis University, Miami University, Columbia College, and many other institutions in the United States already have their teams. When students join their efforts to compete, they develop important teamwork skills. They learn to cooperate, to strive to stand out as individuals, but never at the cost of team achievement. They understand what the common goal is and then work towards achieving it.
League of Legends shows that there are over 500 college teams in North America. When someone loves cyber sports, they can easily find a group of people who get together to play, watch games, and just hang out with each other.
Playing games has a positive impact on technical skills
Players need to rely on their problem-solving skills and critical thinking. When they enjoy a game, they never play it casually. It is the kind of people who strategize, make decisions, attend to details, and focus on the course of the game. Students must rely on teamwork at all stages of the game. They benefit from the knowledge of the team kitchen, and they work on all kinds of situations. All of this is in close contact with the constant learning of the game’s mechanics.
A good game allows the team to develop scientific skills without much effort. That is why teachers/professors may want to encourage play. They already know that most students are not, for example, math fans and think that they do not require this knowledge in the modern world. However, if they start playing, they realize that math is not a useless subject. It is something they use in real-life situations.
Throughout this process, students also develop research skills. They look up player guides, talk to people on forums, and they try to find solutions to problems they encounter during the game.
Cybersports help people integrate into society/college
Competitive play in educational institutions leads to scholarship opportunities. Cybersports are just good old-fashioned sports programs that we all know and respect. Teams also offer students the opportunity to make friends and feel like they belong to a certain unit of society. These programs focus on nonselective inclusion. Gender, language, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and race are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is a commitment to the game. It doesn’t matter if students share common interests in math, literature, or chemistry. The idea behind these teams is to offer opportunities for collaboration and new friendships. This makes the student feel comfortable in choosing a particular educational institution. When a student is included in the community, their entire educational journey becomes less stressful.
Inclusion into mutual activities and communication boost happiness. According to researchers from the APA, rejection and the feeling of being excluded can lead to neurological feelings that can even be compared to physical pain. This can lead to depression, anger, and other negative emotions and states.
The impact of eSports on academic performance
Cybersports are not a waste of time. It is also a hobby that, actually, everyone should have. Some students enjoy jogging, and others enjoy playing. There is nothing wrong with being passionate about an innocuous activity. As long as it’s not the only thing they do, students will benefit from participating in eSports.
The game improves their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. It encourages them to implement math skills and collaborate at a higher level with their team. The game improves one’s memory capacity and ability to focus. Is it even worth mentioning that it’s a great activity that relieves stress? All of these benefits lead to a better learning experience. Therefore, the impact of eSports on academic performance is being unjustifiably demonized in our society.
