Social impact of eSports

Over the last few years we have witnessed live one of the great transformations of our society: the digital transformation or the digital era. These changes had affected the industry of video games directly, creating a whole new space for them that is growing and taking more fans throw the years. The power of eSports is of such magnitude that they are going to be able to take a relevant role in the current transformation towards a new more digital society. Some of the aspects that it has affected directly are:

Women in eSports

An example of transformation is the role of women in eSport, that through eSports can change completely because in a sport where physical skills lose weight in favor of cognitive skills, it is only a matter of time a competition of equals between different genders.

It is precisely for this reason that projects such as Women of eSports have been set up, to promote these advances and do their bit in the fight for women's inclusion. Women of eSports (WoE) tries to empower all those women who are or want to be part of the industry, and they do it through a global community and a mentoring program, where they get helo on a daily basis.

At an international level, there are also more and more mixed or exclusively female leagues and teams, such as the Zombie Unicorns.

Disability in eSports

Similar to this fact, eSports has the power to bring people with disabilities to the forefront of competition. The inclusion of diversity is ensured. eSports will have the magic to blur the barriers between Olympic sports with Paralympic sports.

Therefore, eSports will not only change the way we understand sport, but will be strong enough to change how we all relate to it.

There are numerous cases of individuals with some kind of disability, whether physical or mental, who take refuge in video games, finding in their characters abilities that they themselves do not have, and enjoying the freedom that in some cases they do not have in the real world.

A virtual space like the one offered by video games, does not take into account the appearances or physical characteristics of the players, being normally only their way of playing for what they are known, eliminating aspects like racism or sexism from online games.

The bad reputation of video games

Over the years, video games have gained a negative connotation from one part of society. In spite of this, we are seeing greater and greater progress in their reputation, with good reviews due to the educational nature of some and the improvement of cognitive abilities of others. Furthermore, the professionalization of video games is beginning to be seen in a different light, showing all the effort, perseverance and control that exists behind this industry.

Many times, ignorance has made video games the focus of negative criticism, being accused of making an apology for violence or weapons, decontextualising and negating the sector, without taking into account everything that is behind it, even though this may be debated according to certain cases.

It should be borne in mind that, like any growing industry, it has its detractors, and that specific regulation is needed to deal with all these issues, promoting non-violence, non-discrimination and moderate consumption.

The stigma that video games are bad or addictive is gradually disappearing and positioning this form of leisure and culture as an artistic manifestation of our time and social context. They tell stories, just like a book or a film, and they do it not sуlo through their narrative, but through their own mechanics.