
Gaming: The next varsity sport?
Labor Day marked the unofficial end of summer. The summer staffs we have come to know and appreciate around town have vanished. They made significant contributions: at Tanglewood, in camping, the performing arts, restaurants or catering, retail, special police, road detail, and the Sheriff’s Department, and family childcare; they are returning to their winter jobs. They created and contributed to the safe, rich fabric of our summer experiences in the Berkshires. It is time to celebrate our return to work!
Driving by Monument Mountain High School the football field is dotted with crimson jerseys. We sense the opening of school is imminent. The Spartans are preparing for their first game on September 7. Some say interest in football is waning due to concussions and injuries, but seeing young people on the field, visualizing the school band, cheerleaders, and parents in the stands galvanize us to come together to support our kids and teachers.
Football, soccer, basketball, tennis, and softball are not the only tickets to the sports arena. Many teenagers pursue E-sports, also known as electronic sports or video gaming. One study suggests that 97% of children between the ages of twelve and seventeen in the US play video games. We all know someone, if not ourselves, who participates. It is a form of relaxation and adventure for novices and professionals. The many platforms involve real-time strategies, multiplayer, first person shooter, and fighters. Some of the names sound familiar: League of Legends, Starcraft, Fortnight, Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty. Some themes are darker than others.
The multi-billion dollar gaming business is a lucrative endeavor for companies, program designers, and musicians. Gaming companies are the most profitable companies with the highest grossing entertainment product of all time. It is estimated that 427 million people worldwide will be watching E-Sports by 2019. The video game culture and E-sports continue to grow as the mobile industry grows; E-sports are here to stay.
Although more men than women participate in gaming, players connect with one another throughout the world regardless of age or gender, managing to navigate across many time zones. Gaming on the local level may lead to national and international tournaments where gamers compete for big prize money.
True gamers participate both on and offline by streaming, commentating live broadcasts, writing copy, and engaging in chat rooms on media platforms such as Discord, Youtube, or Twitch. Many teens develop meaningful, long-term, supportive, online friendships. For example when the grandparent of one gamer died his community came together virtually and sent flowers to the grieving family. They are part of a caring, close-knit community, invisible to the rest of us.
However, for some, connecting online is their only social option; face-to-face interaction is too difficult. They spend time isolating themselves and facing technology rather than peers. Making videos or liking the posts of others is a one-way relationship. Without a palpable community these young people are at risk. Red lights should blink for parents and educators when they see kids who don’t show up or participate in class, eat lunch or walk alone through the hallways, or whose friends’lists are names on social media platforms.
Parents and professionals wonder if video gaming is to blame for poor school performance, social issues, and increased emotional dysregulation. Many studies by pediatricians and psychologists have led to continued discussion, debate, and controversy. To date there is no clear evidence that playing video games leads to increased aggression. But wouldn’t it be preferable if we could encourage our youth toward developing more diverse portfolios?
Feeling safe in school is critical for learning. In the sixties the risk of a nuclear attack seemed remote. Students and teachers dutifully followed protocol and responded to fire drills and occasional trips to bomb shelters. Children and parents were not concerned if they would reconnect at the end of the school day. But on any given day, parents, students, and even parents of teachers now wonder if they will be the next victims.
School shootings are not new; the first recorded school shooting was in 1840. But just since January 2018 there have been twenty-three school shootings in the US. The internal threat of violence has entered our classrooms. None of the attacks was anticipated; subtle or more obvious warning signs were missed. How can we expect anyone to focus on the academic aspects or social expectations of the curriculum when they face the possibility of random acts of violence?
Let’s get it straight, facts matter! There is global warming, vaccines do not cause autism, people are feeling more anxious and polarized, there are more acts of aggression, and movies, video games, and the internet do not lead to violence. Easy access to guns leads to violence!
The first few days of the one hundred eighty day school year are behind us. Children’s backpacks should be filled with sharpened pencils, spiral notebooks, hopes and dreams. Teachers’ backpacks must be filled with essays to correct and return, seating charts, great ideas, and hopes and dreams that match those of their students. They should be armed with creative skills to teach the love of learning…not guns!
