An Effective Distraction? : Fantasy Football During the Times of COVID-19

• Autorzy: Sayantan Ghosh Dastidar , Sharanya Basu Roy
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The popularity of fantasy sports has increased exponentially over the last few decades. The existing literature has predominantly focused on the negative effects of fantasy football (or, fantasy sports in general) on mental health because of its association with gambling and internet addictions. Using primary data collected through online surveys, this study attempts to examine the role of fantasy football within a completely new context by asking whether it acted as an effective distraction for the fantasy football managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 70% of the participants consider fantasy football to be an effective escape from day-to-day activities. Approximately two-thirds of the managers in our sample report that they were negatively affected by the suspension of fantasy football at the advent of COVID-19. Once resumed, fantasy football helped mitigate some of the negative emotions caused by COVID-19 and it worked as a distraction for 78.5% of the managers during the pandemic. The statistical analysis indicates that though the role of fantasy football as a distraction was evident across all age groups the effect was more acute in case of the highly involved managers (defined by, level of competitiveness and time invested in the game during weekends). (original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Sport; Pandemic; COVID-19; Computer games

PL

Sport; Pandemia; COVID-19; Gry komputerowe

• Czasopismo: Economics & Sociology
• Rocznik: 2023
• Tom: 16
• Numer: nr 1
• Strony: 138--158

Twórcy

autor

Sayantan Ghosh Dastidar

• University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom

autor

Sharanya Basu Roy

• University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom

Bibliografia

• BBC. (2020). Coronavirus: The world in lockdown in maps and charts. (7 April). Accessed at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52103747.
• Bergevin, T., Gupta, R., Derevensky, J., & Kaufman, F. (2006). Adolescent Gambling: Understanding the Role of Stress and Coping. Journal of Gambling Studies, 22 (2), 195-208.
• Bernhard, B., & Eade, V. (2005). Gambling in a Fantasy World: An Exploratory Study of Rotisserie Baseball Games. UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, 9(1), 29-42.
• Birch, D. (2004), "Fantasyland. You're The Coach, The Owner, and The GM. It's Your Team. Get Ready To Roll," Modesto Bee, F1, August 25.
• Caillois, R. 1961. "Man, Play, and Games". New York: Free Press of Glencoe.
• Carter, C.D. (2012), "When Fantasy Football Becomes an Addiction," The New York Times (November 27). Accessed at: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:EwUJ7CIoijIJ:https://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/when-fantasy-football-becomes-an-addiction/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
• Columb, D., Griffiths, M., & O'Gara, C. (2020). Fantasy Football (Soccer) Playing and Internet Addiction Among Online Fantasy Football Participants: A Descriptive Survey Study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 18(6), 1-12.
• Davis, N. W. & Duncan, M.C. (2006). Sports Knowledge Is Power: Reinforcing Masculine Privilege Through Fantasy Sport League Participation. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 30 (3), 244-264.
• Dorda, L. (2019). The Fantasy Sports Games phenomenon. January 21. Johan Cruyff Institute. Accessed at: https://johancruyffinstitute.com/en/the-expert-corner-en/the-fantasy-games-phenomenon/.
• Dwyer, B. (2009). Fantasy sport consumer behavior: An analysis of participant attitudes and behavioral intentions. Doctoral dissertation, University of Northern Colorado. Accessed at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/112/.
• Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association (2019). Industry Demographics. Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association Survey. Accessed at: https://thefsga.org/industry-demographics/
• Farquhar, L.K., & Meeds, R. (2007). Types of Fantasy Sports Users and Their Motivations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1208-12228.
• Feldman, J. (2014). Popular Fantasy Football Gambling Industry Facing More Legal Scrutiny. Miami Herald (August 30). Accessed at: https://www.zwillgen.com/publication/popular-fantasy-football-gambling-industry-facing-legal-scrutiny/.
• Fuentes, I. (2019). Gender and Fantasy Football. Medium. Article accessed at: https://medium.com/@isabellafuentes/gender-and-fantasy-football-d7dcaee89b8e.
• Gastmans, J. (2019). Fantasy Premier League grows to +7 million users this season. Fan Arena (November 14). Accessed at: https://fanarena.com/fantasy-premier-league-growth-users-per-year/.
• Goodhart, B. (2007). My Name Is Benjie and I'm Addicted to Fantasy Football. The Guardian (October 5). Accessed at: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/oct/05/sport.comment2.
• Griffiths, M. D. (2017). The Psychological Impact of Daily Fantasy Sports Games. Casino and Gaming International, 30, 47-49.
• Holt, D. B. (1995). How Consumers Consume: A Typology of Consumption Practices. Journal of Consumer Research, 22 (1), 1-16.
• Houghton, D. M., Nowlin, E. L., & Walker, D. (2019). From Fantasy to Reality: The Role of Fantasy Sports in Sports Betting and Online Gambling. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 38(3), 332-353.
• Irvine, N. (2020). Addicted to fantasy football. Edgar Daily (November 06). Accessed at: https://edgardaily.com/articles/addicted-to-fantasy-football/.
• Kahn, J. (2016). Confessions of a fantasy football addict. It's Round and it's White (December 26). Accessed at: https://www.itsroundanditswhite.co.uk/articles/confessions-of-a-fantasy-footballaddict.
• Levy, D. P. (2005). Sports Fanship Habitus: An Investigation of the Active Consumption of Sport, Its Effects and Social Implications Through the Lives of Fantasy Sport Enthusiasts. Doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
• Levy, G. (2019). Confessions of a Fantasy Premier League addict. CNN (July 30). Accessed at: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/30/football/fantasy-football-premier-league-spt-intl/index.html.
• Maguire, K. (2021). Covid-19 and Football: Crisis Creates Opportunity. The Political Quarterly, 92 (1), 132-138.
• Marchica, L., & Derevensky, J. (2016). Fantasy sports: A growing concern among college student-athletes. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 14, 635-645.
• Martin, R. J., & Nelson, S. (2014). Fantasy sports, real money: Exploration of the relationship between fantasy sports participation and gambling-related problems. Addictive Behaviors, 39(10), 1377-1382.
• Nower, L., Caler, K. R., Pickering, D., & Blaszczynski, A. (2018). Daily Fantasy Sports Players: Gambling, Addiction, and Mental Health Problems. Journal of Gambling Studies, 34(3), 727-737.
• Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Cox, C. & Garfield, R. (2021). The implications of COVID-19 for mental health and substance use. Kraiser Family Foundation (KFF) report. Accessed at https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/.
• Research and Markets (2021). Fantasy Sports Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-26. Arizton Advisory and Intelligence Report. Accessed at https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/fantasy-sports-market.
• Roy, D., & Goss, B. (2007). A conceptual framework of influences on fantasy sports consumption. Marketing Management Journal, 17(2), 96-108.
• Shipman, F. M. (2001). Blending the Real and Virtual: Activity and Spectatorship in Fantasy Sports. Proceedings of the Conference on Digital Arts and Culture. Accessed at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.474.9203&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
• Snyder, B. (2014). Fantasy Football Could Cost Businesses $13.4 Billion a Season. Fortune (August 17). Accessed at: http://fortune.com/ 2014/08/17/fantasy-football-13-4-billion/.
• Statista (2021). Frequency of playing fantasy sports games in India in 2019, by age group. Dataset accessed at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1064037/india-frequency-of-playing-fantasy-sports-by-age/.
• Subramanian, P. (2013). 5 Surprising Stats About Fantasy Sports. Yahoo! Finance (September 4). Accessed at: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/5- surprising-stats-fantasy-sports-154356461.html.
• Teitell, B. (2012). Fantasy Football Gaining in Popularity with Kids: Bragging Rights Are Main Draw. Boston Globe (October 22). Accessed at: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/10/22/fantasy-football-scores-with-more-kids/jCONWVYJUC2WtbdYPVTc8N/ story.html.
• Vig. H., & Deshmukh, R. (2020). Fantasy Sports Market by Sports Type (Football, Baseball, Basket Ball, Hockey, Cricket, and Others), Platform (Website, and Mobile Application), and Demographics (Under 25 Years, 25 to 40 Years and Above 40 Years): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2027. Allied Market Research Report. Accessed at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/fantasy-sports-market-A06468 10 July 2021.
• Wann, D. L., Melnick, M. J., Russell, G., & Pease, D.G. (2001). Sports Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators, New York: Routledge.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.14254/2071-789X.2023/16-1/10