By Todd Harris, Founder and CEO of Skillshot Media and Co-owner of Ghost Gaming.
Georgia has discovered that video games and esports are powerful tools for economic development, and even more so for youth skill development and workforce development.
The dominant entertainment industry is gaming, as in video games. And it is not even close. The video game industry is $200-plus billion globally—larger than all of film, television and music combined. And, to note, there are more than 3 billion active gamers.
And while the average gamer is 32 years old—much older than people might think—it also is true that each successive generation chooses to spend more of their leisure time playing games and engaging with gaming media and less time with the media you might have grown up with.
Among Gen Z, 90% identify as gamers. Among Generation Alpha, our newest generation, it is 94%.
In other words, just about everyone.
Is that a good thing? Isn’t gaming a waste of time?
If you are not a gamer yourself, you may think about the activity not at all, or with some concern.
You fear that playing video games leads to social isolation, makes people violent or is a waste of time. Without personal experience or familiarity with the research, how would you know that gaming has the potential to help improve cognitive skills, socialization, mental health, education and even career readiness?
I first started gaming with Pong, and I haven’t stopped. I play games, I’m a parent of gamers, and I work in the gaming industry. And for as long as I have been a gamer, there has been some unearned negative stigma associated with the activity.
One concern is violence—now countered by decades of research and meta-studies and, ultimately, the American Psychological Association issuing a resolution in 2015 and reaffirming in 2020 no causal link between playing video games and violent behavior.
That said, just like film and TV, not all content is appropriate for every age or every family. Parents of younger gamers can and should look at a game’s rating to determine if it is age-appropriate.
Still, isn’t gaming time misspent? Surely, gaming must be less productive than reading a book, binging Netflix, listening to a true-crime podcast or chatting with a friend.
Perhaps you think of gaming like junk food for a bodybuilder—to be avoided or tolerable in small doses. The research now is clear that gaming is closer to protein powder for that bodybuilder—not something to overconsume but, in the right dose, helpful for development.
Citing one recent study close to home, in 2022 Georgia State University’s Neuroscience Institute found that video game players demonstrate superior perception and decision-making skills. Another 2022 study found that 42% of gamers have met a very close friend, significant other or even spouse from gaming. Gaming is in fact our most engaging and constructive form of social networking.
It may help you to reframe the situation by replacing “gaming activity” with the board game chess, which has a more positive intellectual reputation, despite the fact that many video games are as cognitively complex as chess. Many games also require cooperation with other humans like a traditional team sport.
Esports translate screentime into skill development time.
Esports is the organized competitive play of video games. Imagine a tournament in tennis or a league in basketball. Now replace the physical sport with a popular multiplayer video game like Rocket League, Fortnite, League of Legends or Valorant, and that is esports.
The esports industry still is very early and very unstructured, but already close to $2 billion. There are 200 colleges that offer scholarships in esports, amounting to $16 million annually. And top professional esports competitors earn more than the winners of the U.S. Open or the Masters.
But monetary rewards should never be the reason to embrace esports. Like traditional sports, it is only the 1% of the 1% who become a paid professional. Rather, it is the potential for character development and skill development. I enrolled my kids in traditional sports programs for reasons having nothing to do with a chance toward a professional sports career, but rather the other positive elements.
Esports, like traditional sports, fosters self-confidence, teamwork, discipline and sportsmanship. More than traditional sports, esports can be a gateway to STEAM engagement and skill development.
Georgia Leading the Way
Our state is leading the nation and the world in fostering positive youth outcomes and skill development via gaming and esports.
Collegiate and Community Building — In 2017, the Georgia Esports League (GEL) became the first statewide college esports league in the U.S. GEL includes our largest universities, smaller colleges, two-year technical colleges and HBCUs with an inclusive and comprehensive offering. In 2024, it will expand to youth community centers across Georgia.
High School — The Georgia High School Association in 2018 sanctioned esports as a varsity activity and now has more than 200 teams competing for state championships.
Educator Professional Development — The North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), founded in 2018 and now Georgia-based, is a global nonprofit with esports professional development available in 130 countries. NASEF’s mission is to provide opportunities for all K-12 students to use esports as a platform to develop STEAM-based skills and social emotional attributes needed to thrive in work and in life.
Workforce Development — The Georgia Film Academy, in partnership with Skillshot, debuted the nation’s first statewide esports workforce development program in 2020. The program and curriculum have since grown to 18 hours of college credit and internships across the pathway of digital media, esports and game development.
Youth Development Outside of School — In 2023, Georgia-based pro-gaming organization Ghost Gaming launched Ghost Gaming Academy. The online youth development platform starts with improving gaming skills and extends to essential life skills. Ghost Gaming Academy is a proud partner of the local Boys & Girls Clubs of America, YMCAs, Station Soccer, 100 Girls of Code and parks and recreation facilities across multiple municipalities.
Gaming has the attention of our youth. Let’s continue to leverage that attention for positive development, equipping our youth with essential life skills and job skills they need to thrive.
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