Page 9 - project_booklet

P A R T 2
Active and Passive Sports Participation

An active lifestyle is characterized by the organic interaction between the individual and his environment.
Technological progress, a modern and busy lifestyle make people lazier, less active and forget that physical
activity is one of the factors that affect physical health and contribute to mental balance. Physical activity
must have a place in the life of every individual. Previous research examining various activities in daily life
has determined that physically active leisure time participation (eg, running, walking) can play an integral
role in improving quality of life. An active lifestyle is a must today. Education systems must be at the
forefront of tackling the obesity epidemic. The main task of health education is to teach preventive
behaviors to the younger generations. Children should understand very well the benefits of physical
activity, healthy eating and well-being.
Passive sports participation, offered through different options including home television, online streaming,
social networks, sports bars and cinema, are important alternatives to spectator sports with physical
participation. The emergence of alternative sports participation platforms that do not require the physical
presence of fans, such as live broadcasting, is becoming a major competitor of live participation. It seems
reasonable from a common sense point of view that, different passive sports involvement are connected,
such as attending sports events, reading about sports, watching sports on television, listening to sports
news on the radio, discussing sports results, and so on. Therefore, those who participate in sports events as
spectators, for example, watching sports on television and reading sports-related news in the newspapers,
will be among the options for passive sports participation.
For example, in the United States, 70% of the adult population follows sports, 42% of sports fans access
sports-related content with mobile devices and 38% with computers. A third of passive sports participants
in the United States use social networking platforms such as Facebook or YouTube to consume sports-
related material, and a large majority of these respondents say they are willing to subscribe to more online
streaming services and sports channels. Researchers predict that, as new and innovative ways of reaching
media based audiences emerge, mediated sports participation may further divide the sports market in
terms of accessibility.
According to the data of a study, the average time spent by individuals for sports in a day in Turkey is 11
minutes, and the most common sports activity is stated as walking. Among the results obtained within the
scope of the research, the most demanded sport branch as an active participant is walking. Factors such as
the relatively economical walking activity, easy accessibility of the equipment to be used, and easy
adaptability to environmental conditions can be considered as the reasons why this branch is at the
forefront.

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