Release Date: July 29, 2024
Photo by Abigail Keenan via Unsplash Are kids still interested in professional sports, or have they been replaced by video games? Movieguide® Contributor
A new report from Kidscreen has found that despite the popularity of video games, kids are still interested in sports.
This summer has been a great time to be a sports fan, as in addition to the Olympics, two international-level soccer tournaments took place in early July. These exciting sporting events have captured the attention of children, with 90% of children between the ages of 3 and 18 knowing that the Olympics are taking place and 67% planning to watch them. The European Cup soccer tournament has also captured the attention of children, with 87% watching at least one match and 81% being able to name specific players.
Watching sports on TV remains the most popular means of consuming content, with 47% of kids preferring it over anything else. Streaming was the second most popular choice, with 28% of American kids choosing it first.
Sports is a great way for fathers to engage with their kids, with 70% of kids saying they’re most likely to watch sports with their dad when asked who they watch sports with.
While these statistics are encouraging to those concerned about youth interest in sports, when compared to similar statistics for video games, it becomes clear just how much video games are capturing young people’s attention.
A May report found that 85% of teenagers play video games regularly, with that number jumping to 97% for teen boys. The Kidscreen report also found that 63% of American kids under the age of 10 aspire to be professional video game players.
Interestingly, teens believe that sports and video games teach similar life skills, such as problem-solving, the ability to work with others, and improved social skills.
While this may be true to some extent, parents should be mindful of the amount of time they allow their children to play video games. Many video games are built with addictive properties built into their core systems, worsening the lives of tens of thousands of players who abandon real-life responsibilities to spend more time gaming. In 2019, the WHO officially classified gaming addiction as a mental illness, and medical professionals are seeing more and more cases every year.
Sports, on the other hand, offers many more benefits, including physical health, and few drawbacks.
Overall, Movieguide® advises parents to encourage their children to live a balanced lifestyle and pursue a variety of hobbies to help them live healthier and happier lives.
Movieguide® previously reported on video games and sports:
Most EA Sports College Football players got access to the game this week, but thanks to strong marketing and general interest in college football, the game has already become widely popular.
The game will be the successor to the popular NCAA Football franchise that was around from the early 2000s until 2014. In 2014, the series was suspended indefinitely for profiting from college football players’ likenesses while not paying them, which was illegal at the time. However, a 2021 case opened the door again when the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes could be paid for their name, image and likeness (NIL).
The ruling allowed EA to revive the franchise and create an even better experience for players. Previously, players couldn’t have their names in the game, so a big star like Tim Tebow was simply listed as “QB No. 15.” But with the new NIL rules, EA was able to pay players to appear in the game, and as a result, over 10,000 college football players received checks for at least $600 and a free copy of the game upon release.
Other improvements over the previous game include “Road to Glory,” “Dynasty,” and “Road to College Football Playoffs” modes, which you can play against friends online or take on the game solo.
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