Emancipated Patients esport By Patrick Neustatter, MD My immediate response to hearing about schools adopting Esport as part of the official school sports curriculum was "not sure about that." Multiple local high schools and colleges are creating teams to play computer games as a school sport with championships and leagues like any other. There are already multiple national league National organizations, like the Association of College Esports - that has awarded $9million in scholarships since 2016. Shenandoah University is offering bachelor of Science in Esport, and the Washington Post predicted in 2018 that it will be a $1.5 billion business by 2020. A few particularly talented kids are making big bucks playing - one from Colonial Forge HS, reported in the Free Lance-Star claimed to have made $20,000 in a 5 month period. Am I being a dinosaur that it just doesn't seem right to me? Your Whole Life in Front of the Computer One of the main criticisms I have
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is how much time it requires these kids to spend in front of their computer. The 12 hours a day claim is you have to train 8-1 to be competitive - when the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no more than 2 hours a day for kids over 12 (and, incidentally, none for kids under 2). Likely at the expense of exercise and face to face social interaction. Gaming can cause repetitive movement injuries, and there are reports of collapsed lungs - The Washington Post reports "players are being warned not to hold their breath during intense moments." Local child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Scott Young, MD, commented in an email response to my inquiry. "In general I don't see any problem with video gaming." It can promote problem solving, teamwork, anticipating consequences, alertness, sportsmanship and provide opportunity to those kids "who are not athletic and have to watch all the successful athletic kids get all the accolades" he says. Research is ongoing about if, and
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how, gaming may have adverse effects on the brains of our progeny - in whose brains we invest so much hope. And there are definite concerns about addiction to video games. Dr. Young does note that the local schools are choosing games like League of Legends and SMITE because they claim they are not as violent as others. Or at least don't encourage sociopathic behavior like Grand Theft Auto or the like. There is some hypocrisy in condemning some of the most violent "shoot-em-up" games, like Call of Duty, he says, because "our society adulates and venerates the soldier/veteran." My comment would be that even though League of Legends and SMITE are not the most violent, you are still killing usually minions and monsters, though sometimes opposing players. Not to mention rampaging and destroying your opponent's home base "Nexus" or "Phoenix" - or whatever they call it. Supervision is Needed The AAP's official publication, Pediatrics (https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/co
ntent/138/2/e20161298), says the answer is supervision and provides a list of recommendations. They have reservations about not celebrating or encouraging violence. In particular "eliminate the use of violence in a comic or sexual context" they say. And some have pretty bad language and frank sexual content. "Manufactures adhere to the classification system" notes Dr. Young, like labelling games MA (mature audience). But, "like cigarettes and vaping teens want to cross the line and manufacturers don't care who buys or plays their product." One hopes schools and colleges would prove responsible in selecting appropriate games for Esport competition for our impressionable kids to play. And parental monitoring is recommended for kids roaming the internet on their own. "We have a large and diverse population hopefully with a niche for everyone" notes Scott Young. "Esports may fill a niche." Patrick Neustatter is the Medical Director of the Moss Free Clinic.
