Is Gaming a Sport or a Hobby?

by Neo Paledi | Mar 22, 2024 | Sports

Video gaming is the third most popular form of content creation that comes to mind when people are thinking about starting their own YouTube channels. “The gaming industry is one of the biggest industries in the world and on YouTube as well”, according to Jimit Bagadiya from the Social Pilot website. In recent years, Twitch has also become one of the most popular applications that gamers use to livestream their gaming sessions. These individuals play games for hours upon hours, which requires more energy than one might imagine. This brings forth an intriguing question that has been debated for some: is gaming a sport, a hobby, or both? 

Gaming is a sport!

It cannot be denied that when one thinks of gaming, they simply imagine a person sitting in a chair with their eyes focused on a screen, as opposed to what comes to mind when one pictures a typical athlete. However, some people do consider gaming to be a sport. According to The Sport Journal, gaming should be regarded as a sport due to certain activities that align with any existing sport: tournaments and competitions. There are leagues in different games that require gamers to compete against each other. “Each league could be compared to a different sports league that plays the same sport, such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator, and Invicta Fighting Championship.” For this view of what gaming is, it appears that the main point is the innovation of digital competitions that bring gamers from all over the world into one software for the same prize.

Gaming is just a hobby!

Those who view gaming as a hobby argue that it’s simply an activity that is just used to pass time or take breaks from daily activities. “It is a pastime activity that people engage in when they are bored or when they want to relax”, this is according to an essay on Ivy Panda. It is also argued that gaming lacks physical action and does not require any athleticism. It seems that for those who regard gaming as a hobby, their main argument is that the lack of body movement does not qualify it to be regarded as a sport.

Well… it can be both!

Perhaps both of these arguments can be seen as valid. Firstly, they both realistically exist in the world of gaming. Secondly, there are competitions with prizes up for grabs and people are kept entertained as they pass time in front of their screens. It is not a must for gaming to be squeezed into one category, and  it is possible that its fluidity is what attracts  millions of people across the globe to be a part of its world.

Gaming has become one of the most popular activities that people of almost all ages have taken an interest in, especially since the pandemic. Just like any other activity, debates will always exist when it comes to gaming. It is just a matter of having one’s own reasons for why those opinions are formed. Students can discuss this question among themselves to see how similar or different their opinions are.

Neo Paledi
view posts