Gaming

What are the advantages of gaming? Is Esports really a sport? What can happen to those who become addicted to gaming?

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Gaming

Fortnite, CA, Minecraft or Roblox. What do you play?

Computer games are a hobby that have their own activities, language, celebrities and history. This is about being a part of a bigger community where you can learn. In Norway, 96 percent of boys and 76 percent of girls play, but the share of girls is getting higher.

En jente sitter foran gaming oppsettet hennes, og tar på hodetelefonene.
En jente sitter foran gaming oppsettet hennes, og tar på hodetelefonene.
Advantages of gaming:

Gaming is good for learning. If you are a gamer, you can feel good about sitting back and relaxing. Gaming is both fun and useful. Here are six reasons why:

1. You become better at English

When you play, you need to read instructions and perhaps communicate with other people in English. Your language skills will be better without you thinking about it. For some people, English has become a favorite subject because they know it well.

2. You are social and make new contacts

In many games, you need to work with others, also in other countries and in other languages. Through this, you can make new friends and perhaps be an important contact for someone who doesn’t have many friends.

3. You become better at problem solving

As well as getting better at cooperation with others, you also practice problem solving. But what is ethically right? Perhaps your decision will affect the lives of the people in a city or the future. How can you go about tactically to defeat an enemy as quickly as possible?

4. Motor skills

When gaming, you need to be quick and use both hands at the same time. You also need good hand-eye coordination. You can also use this in physical education at school.

5. You learn to cope better with stress

Professional gamers meet the same kind of stress as a top-class race car driver. Regular online gaming is probably not as challenging, but you feel the same way. Keeping calm and doing tasks in a calm way is a good thing to learn for the future.

6. Train your emotions

When you game, you train several different emotions. For example, empathy, regret, pride, satisfaction, loss, panic, confusion, doubt and irritation. Some of these emotions are quite unique in gaming.

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Jente sitter og gamer i et rom opplyst med lilla farge.
Jente sitter og gamer i et rom opplyst med lilla farge.

Gaming can be expensive

There are many types of games. Many of them are free, but free doesn’t always mean free. In many games, you can buy extra things that make it easier to win or do better. This is called making in-app purchases. Gaming companies make a lot of money from this!

It can be expensive to play. Some people have been charged lots of money.

Billions in profit

In 2021, the video game industry made over NOK 535 billion worldwide. Norway makes a lot of video games for hundreds of million each year. Sweden makes about 25 billion Swedish kroner each year. If you are hooked on gaming, the games industry could be your dream job!

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En mann ser ned på telefon sin som det flyr penger fra.
En mann ser ned på telefon sin som det flyr penger fra.

Gaming and parents

Gaming is a new activity which parents can find hard to be a part of compared to other activities. Even if most children today play computer games, numbers show that parents are more involved in other activities than gaming. In the government’s computer strategy, computer games are to be an independent free-time activity.

En gutt sitter å gamer i sengen sin. Storesøsteren hans står bak han å prøver å få kontakt med han, fordi han må gjøre leksene sine.
En gutt sitter å gamer i sengen sin. Storesøsteren hans står bak han å prøver å få kontakt med han, fordi han må gjøre leksene sine.

Esports

Esports is organized computer gaming. People have  not been able to agree on if it is a sport or not. Those who are involved in esports say that they have to stay in shape to be able to join at a high level. You need skills like quick reflexes, hand-eye coordination, teamwork, leadership and strategy.

Some of the discussion if something is a sport is if there is physical exercise or not. Some refer to darts and billiards, So sport doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a lot of movement.

Sports is about competition, and the goal is usually to win. Winning and losing become meaningfuI. Sports have rules, doesn’t that also go for esports?

Did you know…?

Esports is huge, especially in Asia, but also in the US and Europe. Over 380 million people watched esports in 2016, and some athletes even made a lot of money when competing.

At some Norwegian upper secondary schools, there are esports education programs.

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Et team spiller på E-sport
Et team spiller på E-sport

Gaming addiction

Computer games provide entertainment, social skills and knowledge. But for some, gaming becomes more important than anything else. They become addicted to gaming. It is difficult for them to talk about it and ask for help.

Danger signs:

  • Frustration, anger and mood swings
  • Aggressive and acting-out reaction when losing playing time
  • Many conflicts in close relationships such as family and friends
  • Choosing not to be a part of family life
  • Missing out on school
  • Loss of sleep, weight loss/gain, poor hygiene
  • Spending more time gaming
  • Isolating oneself
  • Poor diet
  • Drinking a lot of energy drinks

Do you recognize any of these warning signs in yourself or someone you know? Talk to an adult you trust, for example your teacher or the public health nurse.

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En gutt som sitter å spiller mens det ser ut som han holder på å sovne
En gutt som sitter å spiller mens det ser ut som han holder på å sovne

Now you know a good deal about gaming, but how have computer games developed?

Why are there so few professional female gamers?

Sources:

Media Rights:

    1. Getty Images
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    7. BBC Ideas – YouTube
    8. BBC News – YouTube