People today spend far more time watching sport than actually doing any themselves. What are the factors influencing this change?
Watching sports nowadays is straightforward. There are stadiums, courts, ice rinks, fields, swimming pools etc. located within easy reach and at an affordable price. For those unable to attend matches and competitions, access to events is available from a variety of media (television, internet, radio etc) which reports live or has feature programmes.
Watching sport has become a popular leisure activity and a weekend outing. It also provides an excuse for people to go to sports bars with their friends to see events being broadcast live. Similarly, people believe that watching sport is fun and can produce an adrenaline rush without actually participating in the event. So I would say that availability, affordability and social trends have contributed towards the popularity of being a spectator. Marketing and advertising also play a role. A large amount of time and effort goes into promoting sports with channels reporting events on a 24 hour basis. Advertising companies see this as an opportunity to sell their products with the help of sporting heroes.
On the other hand, there has been a decline in participating in sports. This might be due to our busy lifestyle. Our hectic schedule prevents us from taking part in sports which require training, practice and participation in frequent sporting challenges. As we become older and our responsibilities increase, our priorities change and we move away from being fit and well exercised.
All in all, although it is healthy to be involved in some type of sporting activity, many people adopt a inactive lifestyle and can be seen enjoying sports from afar.