The youth, consumed by the on-screen murder of “little people”, the overclocking of virtual machines and the fight to the death, have so far been treated with sympathy, but also with caution. games, which appeared timidly in the 90s and took off with the spread of the Internet around the world, is causing hundreds of thousands of parents to lose sleep, as it is blamed for a range of problems from myopia and scoliosis to alienation. , aggression and dependence. However, games have proven that this is not a passing fad, but a new reality that attracts most children and adolescents.

But at the same time, many of the bright aspects of gaming emerged that a thriving industry is now built around – Saudi Arabia, for example, has invested $37 billion to build 250 gaming companies. The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has already recognized esports as another sport, and players as athletes equal to the rest. Major sports clubs, associations, and even university institutions – mostly overseas – have their own esports teams, invest in them, and are constantly looking for new talent.

“With the help of games, logical thinking develops, memory and critical thinking become sharper, perception improves, the ability to solve problems develops, reflexes are strengthened, since the speed of development of games requires a quick reaction, but also a sense of spatial orientation. as the new generation of games unfolds in a 360-degree environment,” says Efi Costidou, Head of Research at the Hellenic Gaming Academy. “We founded the academy to highlight the positive aspects of online gaming, to inform young and old,” she notes. “We encourage children and parents to follow certain strict rules – players must not skip meals or cut short sleep, must comply with their school obligations, etc.” The academy has training programs for children over 12 years old.

“We started in 2013 as an online platform for friends to meet to exchange experiences in new video games,” explains “K” Michalis Sigalas, founder of gamespace.gr and the Gamespace Mediterranean College Esports team. He knows many gamers who have chosen to study subjects they discovered in the 90s while playing information technology, for example. “However, with today’s proliferation and appeal of gaming, many new jobs have been born. The list is long – coach, manager, psychologist, nutritionist, fitness coach, indispensable in big esports teams, streamer who appears in online games, graphic designer, social media manager, video editor, game developers…

However, on the opposite side of the successful players gaining fame and money are those who at some point lose their temper with disastrous consequences. “In 2018, the World Health Organization recognized gaming disorder (electronic game addiction) as a new mental illness that can involve both online and offline gaming or a combination of the two,” says Dr. Konstantinos Siomos at K. Psychiatrist, Lecturer in Child Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine. P.T. and President of the Hellenic Society for the Study of Internet Addiction Disorders. “A percentage of 3-4% of gamers aged 12 to 25 are addicted, the user is addicted to interaction, as is the case with social networks.” At the 18 Ano Department of Problematic Internet Use at the Attica Psychiatric Hospital, 80% of incidents involve online gaming and 20% social media.

“This addiction is behavioral, but there is also a biological background for its development, which is associated with the secretion of dopamine, the hormone of euphoria,” he describes. “A person feels good while playing, so he looks again and again for electronic devices that will make him euphoric again, because without any other daily activity or game, the brain produces the same amount of dopamine.” Boys have been shown to have a greater genetic predisposition. “Children with atypical autism, learning difficulties, dyslexia, borderline intelligence, and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are at high risk for developing a gaming disorder,” emphasizes Dr. Siomos. “It’s mostly for boys, where the odds are 2.5 times higher than for girls.”

In his opinion, parents should be alarmed if they see a decline in all areas of a child’s life. “Parents should act proactively, from an early age,” he notes, “introduce a consistent daily routine in which electronic entertainment will be a small part (20%) of the total entertainment of the child, and enhance other forms of entertainment, such as music. , sports and dancing, which can equally induce euphoria.” Dr. Siomos wants not to demonize the games, but to guide parents in a timely manner. Finally, in his assessment, the risk of increasing user aggression in games is negligible. “Violence in these games is only a very small percentage responsible for the manifestation of aggression on the part of the player, a decisive role for such behavior is played by his personal experience, i.e. if he himself was a victim of bullying or domestic violence, ”he answers.

Self-Taught Champion Becomes a Teacher

“I’ve been playing video games for as long as I can remember,” Marios “Nivek” Bitsikokos, 33, who has won numerous awards in Greece and abroad, tells K. “My father was in the area, so it was inevitable,” he says, “my mother was too protective of me, she felt safer seeing me play at home than on the street, since we lived in a “difficult” area of ​​Athens, for some reason she doesn’t know which occupation might pose a greater risk to her only child.”

However, those years were not dedicated to the solo experience. “You had to stop and get to know other gamers, be in the same space with them, eat, play, and then, perhaps, move on to some exit.” However, over time, fast Internet connections, new types of games and quarantine literally changed the playing field. “Gamers have the illusion of company because they communicate through the camera with other gamer friends, but for me it’s not the same, maybe because I’m from a different generation.”

Marios flirted with the idea of ​​playing games professionally from an early age. True, she enters the university through Panhellenic, but “I quit because I didn’t like it” – then she graduated from the school of nutrition. “I studied and worked, but it didn’t bring satisfaction,” he recalls. “For six years I had a booth, and I trained from there for tournaments,” says an experienced esportsman. Today, Marios, in addition to being a gamer, is also a coach of junior players at the Greek Gaming Academy, which chose him, among other things, for his “healthy” attitude to the subject. He declares himself “self-taught” and is happy that his hobby has now become his profession, although he does not make a living exclusively from esports. “I’m trying to teach kids how long a move will take, how to mentally set up an opponent, etc.” Many games draw on history, geography, martial arts, religion, mythology, “incentivizing players to look to other sources to learn more.”

Five hours of play, six hours of sleep

In the shadow of professional players are those who lose their temper. In 2018, WHO recognized gaming disorder (electronic game addiction) as a new mental illness.

Quarantine has caused the 21-year-old student Achilleas “Undefined” Karagiannis to turn from an amateur into a professional gamer.

“From the age of 15, I mainly played League of Legend when I had free time,” he explains to K. As the first lockdown begins in 2020, the free time of Achilleas, an EKPA economics student and later a football player, suddenly increases. “Training stopped, school classes were online, so I started playing more.” Then he realizes that by improving his performance, the hobby has a lot to offer him.

In the next two years, thanks to his first tournament honors, he was approached by two US universities. “They were interested in giving gamers scholarships, they were looking at the development potential of each player,” he explains, who ultimately did not fall for the tempting offer for personal reasons. In 2022, he joins the top-ranked GameSpace Mediterranean College Esports while he begins studying computer science at the same college. “We have team training three times a week and two matches,” explains Achilles, “every day I spend 4-5 hours playing and I sleep at least 6 hours.” The 21-year-old is very pleased that games bring him a significant income for his age.

School and virtual Formula 1

“At the end of 2019, my father bought the right equipment to systematically practice Formula 1, train and run in online leagues,” says 16-year-old Miltos Karafoulidis, one of Greece’s top simulation players. “Formula 1, he has many wins to his credit despite his young age. “My father’s activity piqued my interest and I started stealing time to try the game.” Miltos devotes 3-4 hours a day to the game, in addition to studying “During the lockdown, there were days when I played up to 9 hours a day,” he recalls. he notes.

“In a way, I’m already involved in F1 professionally, as I coach and create setups and race prep for SimRacingCentre (SRC), who pay me monthly for my services.” At the same time, “I participate in foreign championships and in the biggest F1 community championship, where professional teams such as Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, etc. can attract me through my performances.”

Not only boys play

Games are not just for boys. “There were always a lot of girls playing, it just didn’t have social media and streaming platforms to show off before; fps, moba, etc. are played by both girls and boys,” answers “K”, 24-year-old Eva Papanicolaou, a gamer, a member of the Gamespace Esport team and a streamer who broadcasts her games live through her own channel. “I started playing games from a young age thanks to the Nintendo 64 console that my uncle Dimitris gave me and my brother,” he says, “I mainly played Mario Bros, Crash Bandicoot, Counter Strike. 1.6, GTA Vice City, Tekken, Gran Turismo. Every day she spends 6-8 hours live, and then another 2-3 hours she plays alone. “Games calm me down a lot and make me more sociable,” says Eva. He met “great people” in the Greek gaming community. Finally, “it’s very good that thanks to the games on the stream I have some income that helps me in my daily life.”

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