I remember I was a young kid, and there was no such thing as a personal device for entertainment. In-person civic engagement was at an all-time high, with many young athletes playing outside. The outdoors was our gaming system for most of the children in my neighborhood until Wiis and Playstations were gaining attention.
Children have been increasingly using technology because of advances that give them interactions. Many parents have been giving their children access to smartphones to give them better ways of communicating with their parents. The connection between the children with technology is growing considerably and impacting the future of sports (Auxier, Brooke, et al.). People are able to spread information quickly and communicate it quicker as well. Positive civic engagement has been experienced with healthy environment sports, but there are other healthy ways to interact with sports to impact civic engagement in a positive way.
The improvement of technology has primarily impacted sports coverage. This gives viewers to be more civicly engagemened in events they might not be able to attend. On the other hand, it decreases their willingness to connect with sports in person because it is all online. Online coverage is available all the time and gives the viewers the to replay or rewatch parts of athletics. It gives children the opportunity to have easy access on updates on athletics. With more accessible opportunities to watch athletics anywhere and anytime, it impacts in-person civic engagement (Agrawal, AJ).
It requires less energy to watch sports events than participate in them. Around 70% of students drop out of organized sports before high school. There are various positives to playing sports, such as working with others and learning hard work, dedication, and commitment. Many children fall out of love with sports and look for other alternatives (Coach Blaise, EdD). People are finding other forms of entertainment because they have fallen out of love with the sport.
There are many ways that children have been falling out of sports. Adults have ruined many athletic experiences for young people. The adults are meant to create a positive environment for their children to prosper. However, many young athletes have been impacted in a negative way, causing them to be less civically engaged with students through athletics. A study at the University of Notre Dame found that “36% of youth reported that coaches yelled at them during a game,
No wonder why some kids choose to play sports or watch sports on the internet instead of playing the games in person.
These athletes should play sports because they are fun and they enjoy themselves. Many athletes have compared playing sports to an obligation instead of a playful experience. Over time, sports for children have been increasingly over-professionalized. Youth athletics has become a multi-million dollar industry that thrives on professionalizing child sports, making it seem like they need the best cleats and gear to thrive in the environment. Adults have a huge role in giving their children a positive experience with athletics (Coach Blaise, EdD). Some adults do not give their children enough control of their lives with sports can cause issues in their experience and not give them a positive understanding of being engaged in the athletic community.
Why is it essential to change the environment of athletics to increase positive engagement with athletics? I have been playing sports ever since I could walk, and I have personally had difficulty feeling like it is for fun and not a job. With more advanced sports leagues, it gets more intense and feels like a job that is not fun.
Civic engagement can be negatively affected if children participate less in sports. Fewer children in sports mean fewer teams, leading to fewer people getting involved and getting together for the sport. Less participation in athletics leads to fewer opportunities to connect with similar communities and experiences. That gives restrictions on the communitiy connections and leads to people needing to rely on technology to connect with others about athletics. Sports are highly competitive and can adversely affect athletic and civic engagement. Kids want to play sports for fun. The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University asked athletes why they play. Most replied with, “to have fun, do something I am good at, improve my skills, stay in shape, and get exercise”(Coach Blaise, EdD).
Everyone deserves a way to impact civic engagement with their community and more extensive community in a positive way. If actively playing sports has not meaningful impact on their lives, these kids should find different ways to interact with classmates and others around them. More sports lead to civic engagement, but we want to ensure positive civic engagement and a positive environment to bring people together.
https://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/3-ways-technology-has-changed-the-sports-industry.html.