04.08.2023 – 10:30
Bayer Vital GmbH
Leverkusen (ots)
Over 600,000 young people in Germany are addicted to media and gaming* Bepanthen-Kinderförderung and Bayer 04 Leverkusen provide information on the health effects of video games Children learn to train like professionals and receive tips from eSports professionals and the sports psychologist from Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Digital games have become an integral part of many young people’s leisure activities. Through the use of social media such as TikTok and Twitch, in which many streamers are active, young people are coming into contact with gaming at an ever earlier age. In addition to the fun factor, online games also have a high potential for addiction and can have negative health consequences. According to the latest study results, the number of media and gaming addicted girls and boys in Germany aged 10 to 17 almost doubled during the pandemic, with more than 600,000 affected. A daily use of an average of 115 minutes can lead to physical complaints in the neck, eyes or forearms, among other things. Together, the Bepanthen Children’s Fund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen counteract the negative effects of excessive gaming by sensitizing children from the Cologne and Düsseldorf facilities of the Arche Children’s Foundation as part of a funding project.
Arche children and eSports professionals play and learn together in the BayArena
With the joint event “Fit for Gaming – play healthy, but how?” the Bepanthen child support and Bayer 04 Leverkusen gave the children an insight into the world of eSports and at the same time explained the health risks and responsible use of the gaming console. Together with the eSports team from Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the Arche children spent an eventful day in the BayArena gaming lounge and had the unique opportunity to play alongside the pros and learn from them. With exciting matches on the console, the children were able to experience professional sport up close and, of course, also put their skills to the test.
This is how the professionals train: with sufficient exercise and fixed playing times
Accompanied by sports psychologist Simon Borgmann from the Bayer 04 Leverkusen professional soccer team, the young participants were given basic knowledge of healthy play and were informed about physical and mental dangers. The pros are also familiar with the downsides of digital games: “I think it’s important that we also talk about the topic of addiction prevention today. Unlike in sports, where we have professional support, personal responsibility is important in everyday life so that gaming doesn’t get out of hand . Sometimes it’s not that easy,” says eSportsman Sean Landwehr. In addition to the digital sports units, there was also active movement in the form of stretching and stretching exercises – just like in professional training.
Back home with experiences, tips and footballs in your luggage
After lunch together, the children explored the BayArena on a guided tour of the stadium. Afterwards, they were able to pester the eSports players with questions: How do you actually become an eSports professional? Are there also women in digital professional sports? Do eGamers still only play for fun? “We are pleased that we were able to give the children of the Arche an exciting insight into eSports today,” said Julian Kaiser, Manager eSports at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. “Our eSports team also knows the challenges that long games on the console bring with it and was certainly able to give the children a tip or two today.” With a soccer ball in their luggage, all participating children took the Arche Bus back to Cologne and Düsseldorf at the end of the day.
* Media addiction in times of pandemic, hersg. by: DAK-Gesundheit and UKE Hamburg-Eppendorf, 2023.
Images can be downloaded from the following link: bit.ly/FitforGaming_Images
About the Bepanthen child support
The Bepanthen Children’s Fund has been supporting children and young people in Germany since 2008. Every two years, together with the University of Bielefeld, she carries out social studies to identify current problem areas in the life situation of children and young people – for example on the topics of mindfulness, violence, child poverty or a sense of community. The insights gained from the studies flow into the practical child support of the children’s aid organization “Die Arche”.
You can find more information at bepanthen.de/kinderfoerderung and at www.bepanthen.de/kinderfoerderung/sozialforschung.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global company with core competencies in the life science areas of health and nutrition. With its products and services, the company wants to benefit people and protect the environment by helping to solve the fundamental challenges of a constantly growing and aging world population. Bayer is committed to making a significant contribution to sustainable development through its businesses. At the same time, the group wants to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality worldwide. In the 2022 financial year, the group with around 101,000 employees achieved sales of 50.7 billion euros. Adjusted for special items, expenditure on research and development amounted to 6.2 billion euros. Further information can be found on the Internet at www.bayer.de
Bayer Vital GmbH sells the medicines of the Consumer Health and Pharmaceuticals divisions in Germany. You can find more information about Bayer Vital GmbH at: www.gesundheit.bayer.de
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Original content from: Bayer Vital GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell