Investigation of problems encountered by electronic athletes in their careers

The aim of the study is to reveal the problems that electronic athletes face in their careers. Digital games; It is seen that the research has been investigated within the framework of concepts such as addiction, asociality and violence. With this research, it is desired to evaluate e-sports as a career option, to bring a different perspective to the literature and to contribute to individuals who will make a career in e-sports. The main research question of the study is "What are the problems e-athletes face in their careers." In the study, the phenomenological design approach, one of the qualitative research method was preferred. Eight professional electronic athletes were selected with the criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling types. In order for e-athletes to have professional qualifications, people who have earned financial income in the field and are included in professional teams were taken as a sample. Using a semi-structured interview form consisting of 12 basic dimensions, interviews lasting an average of 62.5 minutes were conducted. Thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data. In the process of creating code, pattern and category, the relationship towards the research question was revealed by trying to reach the themes. Detailed analysis was performed using the MAXQDA program. The findings were gathered under 4 main themes and 13 sub-themes. 4 main themes: "Digital acting adventure; from virtual competition to real money", "Digital character creation; the nature of the fun and stressfull screen", "The ascent to the ascending reality; digital audience in the sport of the future" and "Real friendship in the virtual world; e-sports career in the shadow of parents and school". According to results; it shows that parents put pressure on e-sportsmen, academic success is prioritized, and e-athletes experience indecision about their careers. In addition, e-sports players state that although they have a financial income above the minimum wage, electronic sports in Turkey are not at the level they want. It is stated that electronic sports show positive acceleration during the pandemic process.