Esports, or organized competitive video gaming with in- and out-of-game rules, have significantly grown in popularity in the last 10 years (Nothelfer et al., 2024). It is a common misconception that the first video game was created in 1972, but that was the year of the first esports tournament, held at Stanford University (Jin & Besombes, 2024). Pong, an electronic table tennis game, was the first video game that gained mainstream popularity throughout restaurants, bars, and other various hangout locations. Video games were in the works back in the late 1950’s, to early 1960’s. It’s safe to say, for decades, people have been burning screens into their eyes and not thinking twice about how it may affect their day-to-day lives. “An estimated 2 out of 3 people in the U.S. report digital eye strain symptoms” (Cleveland Clinic, 2023, para. 4). In the long-term, screen time may cause prolonging health issues later in their life.

It may sound made-up, but there is such a thing as “Computer Vision Syndrome”. This causes eye stress and irritation from long hours spent staring at a screen, that only gets worse the longer you’re staring at a screen. Research shows that the average time adults are looking at a screen throughout the day ranges from 4-8 hours (Duarte, 2024). Esports players, especially if they’re streaming their gameplay outside of practices and competition to try and earn additional income, can spend up to 12 hours staring at a screen in one day. (Edward, 2023) This level of eye strain can cause serious health issues later in their life such as headaches, blurry vision, neck and back pain, dry eyes, and other musculoskeletal issues (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). Neck and back pain common in esports players stem from poor posture or extended seated gaming sessions – like anyone who has a desk job in front of a computer. Often, gamers get tired of sitting up straight and may start to slouch, increasing their risk of musculoskeletal pain often in the shoulders and back. Eye strain has shown to become increasingly worse as technology continues to advance, and children of younger ages start to stare at screens for a longer amount of time in the day. One report even claims that by 2050, there’s a possibility that everyone in America might eventually need glasses due to increased screen time (Kwon, n.d.).

Not only does prolonged screen time have the potential to cause physical health problems, but it can also cause mental health issues as well, particularly from social media use. Side effects found through research include increased levels of anxiety, mood swings, and depression (Devi & Singh, 2023). Screen time can also negatively impact sleep that can lead to sleep deprivation or insomnia, which can be linked with depression if not treated correctly (Nakshine et al., 2022). Screen time impacts sleep through exposing people to blue light that lowers the important sleep hormone, melatonin (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2022). Essentially blue light triggers to the body that it is still light outside when it may be the middle of the night. Sleep is extremely important for the human body to properly function. Without enough sleep, our bodies get very exhausted and can even start to hallucinate, where 24 hours of sleep deprivation is the equivalence of being drunk which can pose serious safety risks (Nield, 2017).

In summary, the dangers of prolonged screen time are many and especially target esports players and recreational video gamers who can spend very long durations of time staring at a screen throughout the day. Whether they’re competing, practicing, or “farming” (i.e., repeatedly performing actions or tasks in a video game to gain experience points, resources, or other rewards), the effects of staring at a screen may not manifest early in life, but over time, the effects will likely show. It’s important for your health to make sure you’re taking screen breaks, stepping outside and “touching grass” for a while, or taking short naps, essentially anything to keep you away from the screen for a few hours at a time.

Note

Note: Lexus Gibbs is junior-level Theatre Management major from New Castle, PA at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (SRU). She is a student in Dr. Seth Jenny’s “Current Issues in Esports Health and Society” course in the Department of Exercise Science at SRU.

References

Devi, K. A., & Singh, S. D. (2023). The Hazards of Excessive Screen time: Impacts on Physical health, Mental health, and Overall well-being. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_447_23

Dyson, J.-P. (2020, November 25). What was the first video game? The Strong National Museum of Play. https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/what-was-the-first-video-game

History.com Editors. (2017, September). Video Game History – Timeline & Facts. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-video-games

Cleveland Clinic. (2023, July 14). Eye Strain: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Management & Prevention. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21059-eye-strain

Devi, K. A., & Singh, S. D. (2023b). The Hazards of Excessive Screen time: Impacts on Physical health, Mental health, and Overall well-being. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_447_23

Duarte, F. (2024, June 24). Alarming Average Screen Time Statistics (2024). Exploding Topics; Exploding Topics. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/screen-time-stats

Dyson, J.-P. (2020, November 25). What was the first video game? The Strong National Museum of Play. https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/what-was-the-first-video-game/

History.com Editors. (2017, September). Video Game History – Timeline & Facts. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-video-games

Kwon, D. (n.d.). A World Where Everyone Needs Glasses? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-world-where-everyone-needs-glasses/

Nakshine, V. S., Thute, P., Khatib, M. N., & Sarkar, B. (2022). Increased Screen Time as a Cause of Declining Physical, Psychological Health, and Sleep Patterns: A Literary Review. Cureus, 14(10). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30051

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2022). How Sleep Works – Why Is Sleep important? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/why-sleep-important

Nield, D. (2017, November 7). Sleep Deprivation Has The Same Effect as Drinking Too Much, Says Study. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/tiredness-sleep-deprivation-the-same-as-drinking-too-much

Edward. (2023, September 4). Apps.uk. https://apps.uk/how-long-can-you-stream-on-twitch

This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured esports posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com

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