What Do Sports and Online Games Have in Common?
On the face of it, there are a lot of differences between real sports and online games. Sports, for example, are physical and involve movement and activity, whereas the most you’ll sweat when playing a game is using a Nintendo Wii!
Still, gaming, like sports, isn’t a waste of time. Although they share differences, there are similarities, too, the type that makes both very healthy and lucrative. Even better, the shared benefits are transferable.
Here’s what sports and online gaming have in common, and why you shouldn’t feel bad if you like either.
Sense of community
Everybody is aware of the sense of community that comes with playing actual sports. When you’re running around attempting to do your best to win, you must work as a team on the pitch. Off it, there’s a culture of partying and socialising, which also brings teammates together.
Online gaming is the same, even if you don’t interact or solve problems face-to-face. For lots of gamers, part of the joy of the lifestyle is linking up with friends via the internet and meeting newbies who they can interact with and get to know better. To the participants, the sense of community is as strong as any other.
Betting
Whether it’s cricket, football, formula 1 or basketball – almost every sport has a range of betting markets alongside it. They allow punters to back their team, back the underdog or back whatever their gut tells them will happen in any given match-up.
Online games are no different as it is now a huge industry. Some not only provide internet users to place bets online but several organisers host multi-million-pound events.
Career boost
It’s weird to think that sharing a dressing room with a group of people or logging in to an online account can aid your career. Typically, it’s assumed this sort of thing takes place at work and only in the workplace. However, sports, real-life or virtual, are excellent at bringing people from different backgrounds together.
Whether you do it online or in-person, you can make contacts and use your network base outside of the game. Also, sports and online games encourage you to sharpen skills such as leadership, organisation and critical thinking, all of which employers value highly.
Stress-relief
People exercise to relieve stress. As you know, it’s hard to think straight when you’re tense and can’t take your mind off a topic. Then, once you’ve played your friend at squash, it’s like a factory reset. And, this happens whether you win or lose. Verywellmind.com points out that the same sensation occurs for online gamers.
Without the intensity burning through the stress, players tend to build a resistance to anxiety through their wins and shared experiences as they’re empowering and increase feelings of happiness. It doesn’t matter whether you play on your PC, laptop or mobile device because it happens regardless.
What do sports and online games have in common? A lot! From making money to improving your career prospects and relieving stress, you can do it all in the sport and e-sport arenas.