Are Video Games Making Sports Obsolete?

Sports play several roles in society, just as they have done for thousands of years. 

In a society that is artificially concentrated into large populations,  the natural tendency to find your own group and protect and expand the influence of that group is strong. The difficulty is that if this happens in the context of violent physicality then you start getting boundary issues – gangs being an obvious example of this.  Sport allows people to get behind a group of people that they feel represents them in some way,  and play out those battles in a dramatic arena.

Playing sports can make you stronger and healthier, contributing to lower obesity rates, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Athletes tend to have lower body mass indexes, but non-athlete participants will still benefit from developing muscles and burning calories. Active people tend to have lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. Exercising regularly through sports programs could contribute to better heart and lung function. Learning to play sports as a child might carry over into being a more active adult, according to Sports and Development.org. Psych Central states that some sports tend to have a more lasting impact from childhood into adulthood: soccer, baseball and hockey, for example. In sports such as gymnastics or diving, athletes tend to peak while still young and not participate as adults.