Are Video Games a Sport?

Over the past few years, the debate over whether video games should be considered sports has been gaining traction. While there might be some similarities between video games and sports, I will prove that they are simply from different worlds. 

Before I get into my points, I will use the definitions of "sport" and "video game" to show how they are different. According to Wikipedia, a sport is “any form of physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills.” In other words, sports are a competitive way to provide postive growth physically. According to merriam-webster.com, video games are “any of various interactive games played using a specialized electronic gaming device or a computer or mobile device and a television or other display screen, along with a means to control graphic images.” To put it concisely, video games are a form of entertainment where you play on a screen through a device.

My first reason why video games aren’t a sport is because video games don’t have any physical exercise. How can the repetitive clicking of video games improve your body and help you gain muscle or lose weight? In fact, while playing video games, it’s also a popular choice to grub on unhealthy snacks! While people might play games like “Just Dance” to exercise, these games don’t provide the same results as playing sports in real life. In addition, video gaming for a long time can cause poor posture, and sometimes excessive use of headphones can cause a dent on your head. According to an article by Nina Corcoran on consequence.net, an online magazine, gaming for long periods can cause “bald patches from a lack of sunlight, hairy ears from a lack of air circulation, ‘Nintendo arthritis’ from excessive controller use, swollen ankles from lack of movement, and a myriad of other problems.” Playing sports, on the other hand, is proven to do the opposite.

Video games and sports also have different impacts on our mental health. It is common knowledge that playing (or mostly losing) video games can lead to a lot of raging while playing sports is scientifically proven to boost our mood. Whether you win or lose, you will always feel somewhat good and refreshed after playing sports. Research indicates that individuals who participated in team sports during childhood exhibited enhanced mental well-being as adults. Sports can also help fight stress, depression, and addiction. Long-term use of video games, however, can lead to serious acts of aggression. While playing video games, some people may degrade other players or even send them vile slurs, which can hurt recipients’ self-esteem and give them depression and anxiety. This type of derogatory bullying is called cyberbullying, which is very common for children. In fact, according to a survey by Matt Zajechowski, 90% of individuals have been cyberbullied online. (During sports, 14% of adolescent athletes have been bullied, according to research done by Jolita Vveinhardt and Vilija B. Fominiene.) According to thetribune.ca, a student-run newspaper at McGill University, video games can also “give the body nothing but headaches, grogginess, and irritation.” There are drastic differences between the effects of sports and video games on mental health.

This can also be said the same about social life and communication. In sports, there is usually a “siblinghood” among you and your teammates, but video games, on the other hand, have the opposite dynamic. Playing video games for a long time in isolation or with mysterious users across the world can make you disconnect from the real world. Devoting all of your time to virtual environments can seriously harm relationships with family and friends. While people might point to video game teams that compete together, befriending people online is simply way too different than interacting with someone outside the web.

After reading this article, you can see that video games simply do not fit in the category of “sports.” I compared the physical, mental, and social effects between the two activities, and by now, it is clear that they are not part of the same category. While they may be entertaining to some individuals, video games do not provide the same physical and mental health benefits as real sports do.