DIGITIZED FIELDS EXAMPLE OF E-SPORTS

Abstract

As a result of rapid technological transformations, many activities that once took place solely in everyday physical life have now begun to occur in virtual environments as well. Advancements in technology have enabled concepts and meanings that exist in the social world to manifest within digital spaces, leading to shifts in various social concepts and practices. With the emergence of digital culture, Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus has increasingly been used in the form of digital habitus to describe the tendencies and practices produced by everyday online interactions. This study examines whether e-sports generate a digital habitus and correspondingly digital forms of capital (social, cultural, economic). A comprehensive literature review was conducted on the topic, and relevant conceptual analyses were performed. E-sports can be regarded as a product of today’s network societies. Consequently, it can be argued that a digital version of Bourdieu’s habitus has emerged. The study concludes that e-sports do indeed create a digital habitus and provide participants with digital social capital and a distinct digital culture. These findings are further analyzed through examples specific to the e-sports context.