11 How Esports Impact Student Life

Chenghsuan Lin, Eric Wang, and Anna Wang

“But, esports can provide an outlet for introverts and “loners” to be with others online and in-person if clubs or teams are established. This would also encourage more extroverted gamers to meet and work with those who feel alone (McGrath 2021).”

This quote shares an aspect of esports as a platform that can bring people together, bridging the gap between introverts and extroverts. It suggests that esports can serve as an outlet for introverted individuals or those who feel alone to connect with others, both online and in-person, through clubs or teams. By creating opportunities for collaboration and interaction, esports can provide a supportive and inclusive environment that encourages teamwork and social engagement among gamers with different personality types.

“As we play this game, we can have fun and keep our friendship with each other, and learn how to play as a team. It is the charm of e-sports”. This is said by one of my friends who was interviewed. Esports is an intellectual confrontation between people using high-tech hardware and software equipment as sports equipment. Through sports, participants can exercise and improve their thinking ability, reaction ability, mind, eye, limb coordination ability, and willpower, and cultivate team spirit. E-sports usually require players to form teams to compete, and teamwork and coordination are the keys to victory. Interacting with teammates and opponents in the game can promote social exchanges and form new friendships and can also cultivate players’ leadership and team spirit.

UW HUB has a gaming club; by joining the gaming club, they always have team bonding when new people come in. After having dinner together, some of the members started playing some esports games together with the same interests, such as CSGO, League of Legends, and Overwatch. We think it is a good idea to get close to some new people in the club who has the same interests and learn how to work with each other well. Through monitoring this activity, we found out that students care about playing with friends rather than playing just to win. Which can be connected to thick institution of physical location.

Purple Caster Minions where people can register and play a 5v5 tournament with teamwork and sportsmanship. Having students running esports clubs makes esports less stressful and more fun. People are free to join gaming tournaments at different skill levels, PCM is the perfect illustration of this, as people in Discord looks for friends to game together and form teams to compete with other teams as a relief to their stressful school work. Which can connect to the thick institution of shared tasks.

Our group has observed that students are willing to play different kinds of games, even if they are not skilled at them, as long as they are playing with friends. our group also discusses the benefits of having an esports club or student association, such as the opportunity to participate in tournaments at different skill levels and the chance to bond with new people who share similar interests. Overall, students who play video games or E-sports focus seems to be on the social and stress-relieving aspects of gaming rather than just the competitive aspect.

Reference:

McGrath, K. (2021). Leveraging Esports in Higher Education. In Understanding ESPORTS: An introduction to the global phenomenon. essay, LEXINGTON BOOKS.

Chat GPT Disclaimer:

Our group has used Chat GPT to help us articulate better when concluding the quote from Leveraging Esports in Higher Education.