The aim of this research is to examine the effect of digital sports games on the motivation levels of secondary school students in participating in sports activities. The research was conducted using a correlational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, and the research group consisted of 141 volunteer students (80 male, 61 female) studying at the secondary school level in different provinces during the 2024–2025 academic year. A personal information form and the Digital Sports Games Motivation Scale, developed by Kim and Ross (2006) and expanded by Cianfrone et al. (2011), were used as data collection tools. The SPSS software package was used for data analysis, and significance was accepted as p < 0.05. According to the research findings, it was determined that the students’ motivation levels for digital sports games were generally at a moderate level. The sub-dimensions with the highest motivation were identified as team commitment, entertainment, and socialization. No statistically significant difference was found in digital sports game motivation levels according to gender, height, body weight, place of residence, income level, and parental education level variables (p > 0.05). Regarding the weekly digital game playing time variable, a significant difference was found only in the entertainment sub-dimension; students who played digital sports games for 5–8 hours a week had higher entertainment levels than the other groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it can be said that digital sports games play a motivating role for secondary school students, especially in the dimensions of entertainment and team commitment, but this effect is related to game time and the quality of interaction with the game rather than demographic variables. It is suggested that digital sports games should be considered not as an alternative to physical sports activities, but as a supportive and complementary element to interest in sports.
The aim of this research is to examine the effect of digital sports games on the motivation levels of secondary school students in participating in sports activities. The research was conducted using a correlational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, and the research group consisted of 141 volunteer students (80 male, 61 female) studying at the secondary school level in different provinces during the 2024–2025 academic year. A personal information form and the Digital Sports Games Motivation Scale, developed by Kim and Ross (2006) and expanded by Cianfrone et al. (2011), were used as data collection tools. The SPSS software package was used for data analysis, and significance was accepted as p < 0.05. According to the research findings, it was determined that the students’ motivation levels for digital sports games were generally at a moderate level. The sub-dimensions with the highest motivation were identified as team commitment, entertainment, and socialization. No statistically significant difference was found in digital sports game motivation levels according to gender, height, body weight, place of residence, income level, and parental education level variables (p > 0.05). Regarding the weekly digital game playing time variable, a significant difference was found only in the entertainment sub-dimension; students who played digital sports games for 5–8 hours a week had higher entertainment levels than the other groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it can be said that digital sports games play a motivating role for secondary school students, especially in the dimensions of entertainment and team commitment, but this effect is related to game time and the quality of interaction with the game rather than demographic variables. It is suggested that digital sports games should be considered not as an alternative to physical sports activities, but as a supportive and complementary element to interest in sports.
