Digital Sociology Podcast

For this episode I spoke with Tom Brock who is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University.
He tells me about his research into e-sports and video games and how the changes in the political economy of video games leads to a more rational approach to games. Is this damaging to the experience of play if it becomes instrumentalised. He also suggests this potentially encourages a neo-liberal orientation to the self as we are encouraged to measure ourselves and our performance in terms of a vast array of metrics.
It was fascinating to hear about the embodied experience of elite video game playing including the strains put on bodies in order to compete at a high level and the insecure lifestyles of those hoping for a share in the potential riches of prize money or sponsorship.
As someone who is terrible at video games I really connected with they way in which Tom conceptualised the perverse pleasures of failure when playing games.
You can read more about what Tom is doing on his website and