World Cup Fever Brings Both Social Bonding and Side Effects

As the 2026 World Cup gets underway, the tournament, being held in the United States, is disrupting many people’s sleep and eating habits, and, as the article puts it, also bringing the usual “headache” of studio punditry. The piece says research and experience have shown that the best way to enjoy the World Cup is as a group, much like music, film, or food, which create communities both online and offline.

The article notes that many parents in Israel and around the world are happy the event comes only once every four years, because it gives teenagers who spend much of their time alone in their rooms a chance to meet people in the real world instead of only on their phones. That, it says, is beneficial regardless of which teams are playing or how the match ends.

But the article argues that football, like the World Cup coverage, also has a darker side. It says the sport suffers from a growing public-relations problem because of increasing violence on the pitch and in the stands, and that watching World Cup matches can lead to social exclusion and shaming when fan groups push away anyone who does not identify with them. It also warns of school-based division fueled by rivalries that spill beyond the stadium and sometimes turn into physical violence.

The piece concludes that passive watching can also contribute to obesity and sleep disorders. In the author’s view, it is perhaps a good thing the tournament is held only once every four years, because the social and personal problems it can create would otherwise require parents to take a painkiller for headache at least once a day for children caught up in the offside.