eSports club on campus

Your school’s student union contemplates to set up the eSports club on campus but the school authority and teachers have reservations about this idea. You are the convener of the club. Write a letter to your school principal, Mr. Mok, to share your opinions about the formation of the club.

Dear Principal Mok,

I’m writing to express my opinions about the formation of the eSports club on campus. Admittedly, video gaming brings about an array of drawbacks: their violent content encouraging aggressive behavior, too long sedentary online playing harmful to physical fitness and addictive gaming resulting in extreme isolation. Yet, there are benefits we should not overlook. Some teachers are even afraid that the club will boost an unfavorable atmosphere in school gaming. As a convener of the club, I am held accountable for clearing any misunderstanding about the objective of the club.

Contrary to what most people conceive, eSports can sharpen players’ social skills. It especially holds true for multi-player online games which involves many like-minded people. This kind of game encourages healthy discussion and cooperation. For example, players need to work with teammates to formulate effective strategies to beat their opponents. These chances allow them to make more great friends and more likely to develop into a lively community, which draws a closer bond among players. The outcome is opposed to the idea that online games will close players off from the real world.  The game ‘League of Legend’ serves as a good example, in which the collaboration with teammates makes players easier to form a friend circle and enjoyable in an active social life.

Apart from improving the inter-personal relationship, eSports can boost the players’ ability to tackle issues. Modern electronic games’ interface is not as simple as they were. The players are required to engage in higher level problem solving and to advance through the game’s levels: the higher the level, the more challenging the problem they face. Unlike the traditional subjects like mathematics that youngsters learn in school, online games offer an exceptionally competitive setting that arouses players’ passion to get over the hurdles. The process unwittingly improves their abstract and creative thinking skills which could then be translated into real world situations. In fact, recent research has proven that the effects of modern video games on the brain is largely positive.

The school authority might be worried that students are easily tempted, and get hooked on, online games after the introduction of the eSports club. I concede that there may be some possibility. But it has nothing to do with the club itself. It is a matter of students’ self-discipline problem. Primarily, the eSports club aims to promote a correct attitude towards video gaming. To stop obsession with online games is the key message the club intends to convey to our fellow students. Even in the absence of the eSports club, students have been well accessible to online games. What the club starts to share is the corresponding ethics such as how to manage time for it properly and what games are suitable for schoolmates.

Video gaming has its interesting mix of both positive and negative effects. As with anything, moderation is the key. It is the motto underpinning the eSports club. I hope that the school authority welcomes the formation of the club.

Yours sincerely,
Chris Wong