Parents are always complaining about their child’s screen time and gaming addictions. ‘Put that phone down, think about your future!’ is not uncommon to hear in any teenage household. Gaming has caught the interest of kids across the world and being indoors constantly has further fueled that.
As parents, we focus more attention on the potential dangers than on the potential benefits of electronic video games, but these games are a normal part of modern childhood.
What if we told you that by engaging online, your children may actually be doing just that: thinking about their future?
In the digital space of online gaming, there is an increasing number of job opportunities opening up.
Statistically speaking, 9 in 10 Indian gamers are beginning to consider it a serious career option. In fact, 81% of said gamers are already willing to take gaming up as their profession.
According to a KPMG and Google’s report’, the Indian gaming industry is set to add 190 million gamers to the gaming industry by 2021. So how can one monetize this passion?
Do You Know How Much Gamers Are Making Right Now?
India hosts a range of gaming competitions with sizeable cash prizes, like the ESL India premiership, where gamers can win from Rs.10, 000- 1, 10, 00,000 per game or competition. There are new championships opening up across India and worldwide, and this a great place to start for those considering gaming as a future career.
But it doesn’t stop there. There are several careers in gaming like
Image Source: https://idreamcareer.com/
These are all integral parts in the development of any game that can combine peoples love for gaming with lucrative high-demand skills. If someone doesn’t have the technical skills required to develop games, they can write video game scripts and test video games for technical errors.
By the way, a tester’s jobs, however, are more than just playing video games for a living. Contrary to popular belief, one must have a high level of understanding of game development to be able to effectively test them.
One doesn’t have to be a pro-gamer to gain a stable salary. According to idreamcareer.com, game developer salary in India ranges from Rs.50,000 to Rs.1,20, 000 per month. Salaries and other perks for a career in gaming depend majorly on the gaming companies, skills, and level of expertise. It helps to have a postgraduate degree, which significantly raises skills and qualifications and subsequently, salary.
Junior Gamers Something For You To Rejoice About
To give you a further insight into how gaming is taking off – the International Olympic Committee announced recently that it was organizing a slate of five esports events to be staged ahead of the Summer Games this year in Tokyo. The Olympic Virtual Series will feature competitions in auto racing, baseball, cycling, rowing and sailing.
Quote By IOC President Thomas Bach
The Olympic Virtual Series is a new, unique Olympic digital experience that aims to grow direct engagement with new audiences in the field of virtual sports, It encourages sports participation and promotes the Olympic values, with a special focus on youth.
Despite this, why are parents apprehensive about gaming?
Parents are concerned with children’s ability to quickly get addicted to gaming and reap all its negative side effects. While gaming is popularly attributed to lower cognition and social skills coupled with higher amounts of aggression, this may not always be the case. In fact, it is highly dependent upon the types of games children are playing.
It has been observed that both physical and psychological harm can be caused by video games. Lack of physical exercise as a result of gaming addiction does cause lasting effects on the human body and staring into an artificial screen tires the eyes, which leads to discomfort, blurry vision and headaches in some cases.
Fun fact – India has its own eSports federation called the eSports Federation of India.
Live streaming channels like Twitch.tv, YouTube Gaming; etc. broadcast these tournaments just like it is done in cricket and FIFA. Not all of these video game competitions are played online; some are organized as physical events where players compete with others in front of a live audience.
Some games are modelled around crime and violence and can foster the same attitudes among children, which is something parents must closely monitor. However, that isn’t the case for most games. Games often require a logical and tactical approach, particularly many role-playing, multiplayer and shooting games.
What many parents don’t know is that 91% of gaming improves concentration and attention, and is a source for relaxation. 92% of games help relieve stress and study pressure as well as induce positive feelings.
To conclude, before snatching the controllers away from your child urge them to seek out resources to make effective use of their passions. Due to this industry growing, there are tons of programmes and courses that budding gamers can take to see if it has potential for the future.
If not, then maybe allow them to game occasionally solely for stress relief. You never know, your teenager stuck gaming in their darkroom 24/7 might actually have a very bright future!
Parul Gupta
Dr Manjari Rao
Dr Paula Goel
KSP Team
Kushal Singhal
