The attitude to sports, digital game addiction- awareness and trends: Comparison of generation X, Y and Z

The current research aimed to examine the attitudes, digital game addiction, and awareness of digital game addiction of eSports players of the Generations X, Y and Z who play eSports games for at least 6 hours a day, and to determine their tendencies regarding sports and digital game addiction. The quantitative part consisted of 1054 eSports players (Generation X:255; Generation Y: 348; Generation Z:451), and the qualitative part included 592 eSports players (Generation X: 173; Generation Y: 201; Generation Z: 218). Data were collected through Sports Attitude Scale (SAS), Game Addiction Scale (GAS), Awareness of Digital Game Addiction Scale (ADGAS), and open-ended form. Regarding quantitative analysis, MANOVA and Pearson Correlation analysis were used. Content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Findings indicated that the attitudes of women in Generations X and Y towards sports were higher than those of men, that the game addiction of the men in Generations Y and Z was higher than that of the women, and that the awareness of the digital game addiction of the men in Generations X, Y and Z was higher than that of the women. The attitudes of eSports players in Generations Y and Z who do sports regularly were found to be higher than those who do not do sports regularly, and the awareness of digital game addiction of those who do sports regularly in Generation Z was higher than those who do not do regular sports. It was found that regular sports had no effect on the level of game addiction. Considering Generation X, the attitudes of undergraduate graduates towards sports were higher compared to those of high school and secondary school graduates. Regarding Generations Y and Z, the game addiction of secondary school graduate eSports players was higher compared to high school and undergraduate players. The awareness level of digital game addiction of undergraduate eSports players in Generation X was higher than those of secondary and high school players. The attitudes of eSports players in Generation Z with high economic status towards sports were found higher than those with medium economic status. Besides, the awareness of game addiction and digital game addiction did not differ significantly according to the economic status of the participants. The attitude towards sports of those in Generation Y, who did not have harmful habits, was higher than those who had harmful habits. The game addiction of those in Generation Y, who had harmful habits, was higher than those who did not have harmful habits. The awareness of digital game addiction of Generations Y and Z, who did not have harmful habits, was higher than those who had harmful habits. For Generation Y, eSports players with normal body mass index were found to have higher attitudes towards sports than those who were obese, and the game addiction of those with obese body mass index was higher than those who were normal and thin. The awareness of digital game addiction of Generation X and Y with normal body mass index was higher than the obese ones. Besides, a low negative correlation was found between SAS and GAS; A low level of negative correlation was found between ADGAS and GAS; A moderately significant positive correlation was found between SAS and ADGAS. The qualitative data displayed that the views of eSports players in Generations X, Y, and Z were gathered under different themes. Regarding sports, eSports players of Generation X commented on positive, negative, and harmful themes; eSports players of Generation Y expressed their views on secondary and important themes; eSports players of Generation Z commented on secondary and necessity themes. It found that the views of eSports players in Generations X, Y, and Z on digital game addiction had formed similar and different sub-categories. The similar ones were harmful and rejection themes, and since digital game addiction was seen harmful, digital game addiction had negative effects on individuals. As a result, the attitudes of eSports players in Generations X, Y, and Z generations towards sports were high, the level of game addiction was medium, and the level of awareness about digital game addiction was moderate. Also, it was concluded that the eSports players in Generations X, Y, and Z mostly considered sports as a secondary option and had positive opinions about sports. Moreover, most of the eSports players emphasized the harms of digital game addiction, and they were found to be aware of digital game addiction.