This book provides important new insights into social issues in the rapidly growing field of esports, filling a gap in the literature that has, until now, been dominated by business and management perspectives.
Bringing together leading esports experts from Europe, North America, and Australia, the book provides new sociological analyses that define and locate esports in social studies. It explores key issues in esports and in the wider sociology of sport, including gender equity, diversity, cheating and doping, physical and mental health, and issues related to the governance of esports. Presenting new empirical research alongside critical, theoretical perspectives, the book addresses themes such as digitalisation, technology, equality, innovation, and welfare, suggesting directions for future research and highlighting implications for practice and development in the esports industry.
This is essential reading for advanced students, researchers, and practitioners working in esports, the sociology of sport, gaming studies, media studies, sociology, or the interaction of ICT and wider society.
Author(s): Anne Tjønndal
Series: Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 190
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Part I Setting the scene
Chapter 1 Introduction to social issues in esports
Chapter 2 Social issues in esports: Current and emerging trends in research
Part II Gender
Chapter 3 The representation of women in Hearthstone esports
Chapter 4 Leadership and gender inclusion in esports organisations
Chapter 5 The importance of female characters in esports: A quantitative analysis of players’ perceptions of gendered character representations in sports video games
Part III Mental health and integrity issues
Chapter 6 Stress and coping in esports
Chapter 7 Doping in esports
Chapter 8 ‘Virtually cycling’: The impact of technology, cheating, and performance enhancement in bicycle e-racing
Part IV Diversity and inclusion
Chapter 9 Understanding the potential for esports to support social inclusion agendas
Chapter 10 The Olympic Movement and esports governance: Finding the right way of cooperating for diversity, equity, and inclusion
Part V Conclusion
Chapter 11 Conclusion: Moving forward in research on social issues in esports
Index
