Dear Indians, IPL games are Weakening You (Are You Aware?)

Every year comes the summer, and IPL (Indian Premier League) takes place between March and May.

People of India are crazy about the Indian Premier League (IPL), a hugely popular cricket tournament. IPL games are not only popular in India but around the world too.

IPL games entertain, and they have economic benefits.

However, IPL games are also responsible in some ways for weakening you, whether you are a teenager or an adult.

Let’s look into those factors:

1. IPL Games Waste Your Time

In an IPL season, many people around you talk or discuss IPL games.

So, whenever you get free time from your studies, work, or daily chores, you feel the urge to see scores of the ongoing matches.

This urge is so strong that you open your TV, mobile, or other devices to start watching the games.

You think you are being entertained, but these games are not giving you any real values.

You not only watch the live matches but try to watch pre-match or post-match expert discussions.

Have you ever tried calculating how many hours of your life you have given to these games?

How it Can Weaken You?

These games are like garbage because they don’t add any value to the time you spend or any addition to the quality of your life.

You become weak when you input garbage into your mind instead of gaining knowledge, that can help you wade forward through the river of life.

Instead of watching these “time-wasting” games, you can read books by great writers and learn better about life and society.

Many people show signs of mental weakness when they indulge in post-match discussions or debate wars on social media platforms.

2. IPL Games Distract You from Your Responsibilities

Have you noticed that the IPL season coincides with board exams?

So, students get distracted when the games start. Instead of focusing on their study, their concentration gets interrupted by people shouting about every four, six, or wicket taken in the ongoing matches.

Some students even forget about their studies and check on scores here and there.

Similarly, IPL season coincides with professional responsibilities like business financial year closing period or tax filing period.

In such periods, employees get distracted and keep checking scores in whatever way possible or disturbing the other employees around.

How it Can Weaken You?

Instead of focusing on our responsibilities, we give excessive attention to IPL games. This affects our performance, productivity, and overall well-being.

Do you think you utilize your time better when you spend countless hours watching these matches, news related to these events, or discussing it with your friends and families?

3. IPL Games Encourage Gambling and Betting

The IPL has been associated with a rise in gambling and betting activities.

As IPL is highly popular, it gets extensive media coverage. Due to this, it is heavily sponsored by betting companies.

You can see advertisements of these betting platforms in the stadium or during live coverage.

IPL season increases the visibility and accessibility of these dangerous betting and gambling online platforms or mobile apps.

This constant exposure can normalize and glamorize gambling, making it seem like a harmless and even desirable activity.

This ease of access has made it convenient for people to place bets, even during live matches.

How it Can Weaken You?

If you go to such platforms and do bettings, you must know that you can lose a good amount of money. It can lead to financial hardship and debt.

Betting and gambling can be addictive and it results in compulsive behavior. Addiction happens when you become weak, you can lose control over your finances and life.

It’s not all. Betting and gambling addiction can also trigger mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

3. IPL Games Create Unrealistic Expectations

IPL games are associated with a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle.

You see Bollywood stars and international stars attending or performing in this tournament. They endorse various IPL-related products and services.

People get attracted to this association between IPL and celebrities. It creates an aura of glamour and exclusivity around the tournament.

The IPL is also known for its lavish late-night parties and events. As every media covers and talks about it, you get distracted by the opulence and extravagance you see in such events.

Further, you see a highly publicized player auction where teams bid for players. As the players get multi-million dollar contracts and high salaries, you see cricketers as wealthy and privileged individuals.

How it Can Weaken You?

During the IPL tournament, you expose yourself to a constant glamorous and luxurious lifestyle. This can create unrealistic expectations for you.

You may feel dissatisfaction when you compare your lives with the idealized versions presented by the IPL. The way IPL promotes luxury and wealth, it can fuel materialism and consumerism.

You may see no harm in excessive spending because you want to follow a life like your cricket idols or celebrities associated with the tournament.

You may focus more on material possessions instead of taking care of other important aspects of life.

This can lead to debt and monetary problems.

As youth watch these matches a lot, they may set unrealistic expectations like they can also become a cricketer like their idols. They may not be aware of real-life challenges and other realities associated with cricket.

Further, as you constantly compare your life with the idealized lifestyle portrayed by the IPL, you may feel that there is not enough in your life. You may feel low self-esteem or even depression.

You may pressurize yourself to achieve similar levels of success and wealth, which can lead to stress and anxiety.

4. IPL Games Promotes Unhealthy Lifestyle

IPL matches often start late in the evening. You sit late at night until these matches finish, resulting in disrupted sleep patterns.

When you watch an IPL match, what do you see? You see people in the stadium having junk food, You see advertisements related to junk food before and during matches.

Hence, you can also consume junk food, sugary drinks, or processed snacks while watching matches. The more we are excited, the more we consume such foods. When you watch IPL matches for extended periods, it leads to living a sedentary lifestyle. You do little to no physical activity.

Further, if you are sitting with your friends or you are a part of parties and gatherings, you may consume excessive alcohol.

How it Can Weaken You?

When you watch late-night matches, consume unhealthy food and drinks, consume alcohol, and show sedentary behavior, you should know that you are significantly impacting your physical health.

Such activities and behaviors can lead to chronic diseases and affect your overall well-being.

When you subject yourself to sleep deprivation and junk foods, you negatively affect your mental health. You can suffer from mood swings and can get irritated easily. You can suffer from anxiety and depression.

Further, the unhealthy lifestyle promoted by IPL can affect anyone, children, teenagers, adults, or old people.

You can feel fatigued after watching these games. It can result in decreased productivity at work or school.

5. IPL Games Reinforce Gender Sterotypes

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has shown indifference towards women.

The IPL mainly focuses on and promotes men’s cricket. The Women’s IPL known as WPL (Women’s Premier League) doesn’t garner that much attention.

There are limited opportunities for women cricketers. Due to this lack of representation, a common idea perpetuates that cricket is a male sport.

It reinforces the marginalization of women in sports. Also, you can witness objectification of women in the IPL in the form of cheerleaders. The IPL focuses on their physical appearance and assigns them a secondary role in the sport.

This reinforces the harmful gender stereotypes and reduces women to mere objects of entertainment.

Furthermore, there are limited opportunities for women in leadership roles such as coaches, commentators, physiotherapists, and team owners.

This reinforces the idea that women are not capable of holding positions of authority in the sport and indirectly keeps gender inequality alive.

How it Can Weaken You?

What you see affects you directly and indirectly based on what your beliefs are, who is around you, and in what kind of society you live in.

When you constantly expose yourself to gender stereotypes in the IPL, it leads to the internalization of these harmful beliefs.

It can limit your aspirations and the choices you make. It can perpetuate gender inequality. It can hinder your personal growth and development.

The objectification of women in the IPL can hurt your mental health. You may face issues like body image concerns, low self-esteem, or depression.

6. IPL Games Promote Unhealthy Rivalry Between Fans

The IPL is a competitive tournament and its fan base is very passionate. So, this can sometimes escalate into intense rivalries.

During the tournament, fans of different teams indulge in verbal abuse and online trolling. Sometimes, you can witness even physical altercations between fans of different teams.

Media who cover the IPL tournament understand this rivalry aspect of fan bases, so they focus more on it. They hype the matches and emphasize the animosity between teams.

Hence, the media amplify existing tensions and create a more hostile environment for fans.

Further, fans who support a team have a sense that they are a part of a tribe. So, they feel a strong sense of belonging to their team and view other teams as their enemies.

This further fuels the animosity between fans.

How it Can Weaken You?

First, common sense says that you won’t get any value back being a fan of your favorite team.

Instead, when you defend your team and engage in heated arguments with rival fans, you may feel mental and emotional stress.

While the IPL, sponsors, and your team earn, you deal with anger, anxiety, and even depression in some cases. Many fans are not aware that due to their excessive rivalry, they may face social isolation.

There is a possibility that many fans may distance themselves from friends and family who support different teams.

Such behaviors can damage your relationships, and you can feel lonely.

In heated debates or online trolling and abuse, you may lose sight of the fact that cricket is just a game meant for entertainment. Take it lightly.

There is no point in taking the losses too personally.

Due to rivalry, you may subject yourself to financial difficulties. You may engage in excessive spending on team merchandise, tickets, or even betting. These ways can lead one towards debt.

In some extreme cases, excessive rivalry between fans can escalate into violence and aggression. It can be online or offline.

It can lead to physical harm, legal consequences, and further damage to relationships.

Adults forget that how they behave impacts children also. So, when the children witness rivalry among adults, they may learn that negativity and aggression are a part of this sport.

They can develop an unhealthy attitude towards competition instead of focusing on enjoying it.

Conclusion

IPL games are established purely for monetary gains. Ads, sponsorships, merchandise, and ticket sales are their revenue sources.

I understand that the IPL brings joy and excitement to millions, but these games have negative impacts also.

Think of it like this:

If you watch these games and do not improve your life or gain any good knowledge, you are making yourself a fool in the name of entertainment. Further, ask yourself the following questions:

Further, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are IPL games contributing to the growth of the society?
• Are these games worried about the environment?
• Trending hashtags related to IPL on X show how much the youth of India divested in these matches. Should they be?
• Does IPL promote responsible consumption?
• Does IPL address dangerous concerns like gambling or betting?

If you ask these questions to yourself with full awareness, you will get the right answers from your conscious self.

I have asked these questions to myself, and hence, none of my family members watch these games.

However, if you still want to watch the IPL, watch it for entertainment only.

But don’t give much of your time to it.