McIntosh

Judy McIntosh

Emily Litle

ENG1021

16th March 2023

It's not Play if You're Getting Paid

The Guardian. “‘It’s Not Play If You’re Making Money’: How Instagram and YouTube

Disrupted Child Labor Laws.” The Guardian, 24 Apr. 2019,

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/apr/24/its-not-play-if-youre-making-money-how-

instagram-and-youtube-disrupted-child-labor-laws

The article aims to challenge the notion that playing video games for a living is a form of

leisure and to shed light on the labor conditions and constraints that professional gamers face.

Kuby conducted ethnographic research by attending video game tournaments and conducting

interviews with players and industry professionals. The scope of the article is limited to the

French context but provides insight into the global phenomenon of professional gaming. This

article can be useful for researchers interested in the intersection of work and play, digital

labor, and the gaming industry. However, one limitation of the article is that it focuses on a

specific group of players and may not be representative of all professional gamers. In

conclusion, the article highlights the complexities of the professional gaming industry and

challenges the traditional view of gaming as a leisure activity, which can illuminate the ongoing

debate about the blurring lines between work and play in the digital age.

Two - Response:
 McIntosh

Description:

- The article highlights the blurring of the line between play and work in the video game

industry.

- The study uses qualitative methods to investigate the experiences of competitive video

game players.

Comparison:

- The article can be compared to other studies that examine the impact of

professionalization on play and work in other industries.

- The study can be compared to quantitative studies that use surveys or experiments to

investigate the impact of professionalization on player experience.