Factors affecting the formation of the motivation of children and teenagers to engage in eSports

Abstract

The article examines the factors affecting the formation of children and teenager’s motivation to engage in eSports. Considering the annual increase in the number of children and teenagers who are fond of gaming and later join professional eSports activities, it is interesting to investigate their motivation in order to attract more people willing to engage in this kind of sport. It will also allow to influence the effectiveness of their sports training and achieve high results. There were analyzed the main indicators of cognitive activity of children and teenagers during the game. It has been proven that 50.0% of players have a high level of motivation, 30% - medium and 20% - low. Children and teenagers are interested and enthusiastic about eSports under the influence of the following factors: gameplay; interest in the theme of the game; graphics and sound support; multiplayer mode; variety of tasks; shared experience; possibility of self-expression; positive feedback about eSports discipline. It was established that the most influential motives for children and teenagers to engage in eSports are entertainment (16 points), social (28 points) and escapism (36 points), and the least influential motives are personal (67 points), material (70 points) and health (78 points).