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Violence in video games has long concerned parents, who worry about the influence on impressionable minds of controversial games such as Grand Theft Auto. In many games, players score higher when they break the (virtual) law, behave violently toward others, and maximize the pain inflicted on other players.

So pervasive is the idea that violent video games cause violent behavior that a 2010 survey found that 49% of adults believe that violent games can inspire some people to commit real-life atrocities. A study published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture undermines this claim, suggesting that violent video games do not increase violent behavior. Instead, the researchers argue, duration of play is what matters.

Violent Video Games Might Not Cause Violent Behavior

Researchers interviewed about 200 10- and 11-year-olds about their video game-playing habits. They also asked the children's teachers about their classroom behavior, problem-solving skills, and academic engagement. Two-thirds of the children reported playing video games each day, with boys almost twice as likely as girls to engage in daily game playing. About 10% of children reported playing games for more than three hours each day.

Children who played video games for less than an hour each day showed lower rates of aggression than children who did not play at all-even when the games in question were violent ones. Children who played for longer than three hours each day, however, had higher levels of aggression and lower levels of academic engagement. The study's authors argue that their results show that daily video game play is not linked to an increase in aggression. Instead, prolonged play may increase aggression, though the study did not illuminate why this might be.

The Video Game Debate Rages On

Researchers in the study were careful to point out that new technologies often inspire a moral panic. At various times, parents have worried about the effects of violent movies and television, aggressive music lyrics, and even radio shows. With each technological advancement, though, there hasn't been a sudden new wave of crime.

So, the jury is still out on the effects of video games. Research consistently finds benefits such as an increase in spatial reasoning skills, but some studies have uncovered a correlation between violent games and violent behavior. A 2014 study found that kids ages 8 to 17 who played many violent video games displayed an increase in violent behavior, even three years later. Another study found an increase in violence among teens who played violent video games.

The way a video game affects an individual child may depend on a number of factors, including parental involvement, the child's personality, how much time the child spends on games, and similar components of a child's environment.
References:

1. 22 charts and graphs on video games and youth violence. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://videogames.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=003627

2. Bingham, J. (2015, April 1). Study finds no evidence violent video games make children aggressive. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11507576/Study-finds-no-evidence-violent-video-games-make-children-aggressive.html

3. Rettner, R. (2014, March 24). Do violent games boost aggression? Study adds fire to debate. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/44325-video-games-aggression-debate.html

4. Violent video games make teenagers more aggressive, study finds. (2012, October 8). Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/9593188/Violent-video-games-make-teenagers-more-aggressive-study-finds.html

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Violent Video Games Don't Make Kids Violent, Study Finds

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Violence in video games has long concerned parents, who worry about the influence on impressionable minds of controversial games such as Grand Theft Auto. In many games, players score higher when they break the (virtual) law, behave violently toward others, and maximize the pain inflicted on other players.

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A new long-term study into violent media in the US could help settle the long-standing argument of whether or not violent films and video games are to blame for violence in society.

The research, led by psychologist Christopher Ferguson and published in the Journal of Communication, not only found that there was no link between violent media and behaviour but also questioned the methodology of previous studies suggesting the two were related.

Ferguson and his team point out that many laboratory-based studies into the effect of media violence have measured aggression in test subjects through "less aggressive outcomes ranging from filling in the missing letters of words through delivering nonpainful noise bursts to a consenting opponent."

The study points out that these studies also commonly "provide exposure to brief clips of media, rather than full narrative experiences" and that "the resultant aggressive behaviors are also outside a real-world context in which the aggression appears to be sanctioned by the researchers themselves."

In the first of two historical studies the researchers examined the correlation of violent films and societal violence, analysing the frequency of violent acts in the top-grossing titles between 1920 and 2005.

The study notes that film violence followed "a rough U pattern" during this time period, but that societal violence fluctuated differently, with the latter half of the 20th century even showing an increase in film violence "associated with reduced societal violence".

A second study into video game violence used data from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to estimate the violent content of popular games from 1996 to 2011. This was then compared with data on youth violence during the same years, with the study finding a correlation between falling youth violence and the popularity of violent games.

During this time period "youth violence dropped precipitously", the researchers write, "despite maintaining very high levels of media violence in society with the introduction of videogames."

In a press statement Ferguson notes that the media narrative surrounding violent video games and youth violence may be due to the "limited amount of resources and attention" that society can devote to "the problem of reducing crime".

He adds, however, that if the wrong problem is identified, it may "distract society from more pressing concerns such as poverty, education and vocational disparities and mental health."

Ferguson writes: "This research may help society focus on issues that really matter and avoid devoting unnecessary resources to the pursuit of moral agendas with little practical value."

Reuse content

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Long-term US study finds no links between video games and violence

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A new long-term study into violent media in the US could help settle the long-standing argument of whether or not violent films and video games are to blame for violence in society.

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This commerical of the call of duty includes violence to promote the game.

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Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III Live Action Trailer - “Seize Glory”

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The official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III live action trailer, directed by Wayne McClammy and featuring Michael B. Jordan, Cara Delevingne, and Marshawn Lynch, follows Kevin as he wall-runs, thrust jumps, and power slides through enemies and zombies on his way to glory. No matter who you are, there's a soldier in all of us.

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This one is near and dear to my heart:

Everyone just knows that violence is on the rise, especially among kids. Everyone just knows that violent video games have something to do with it. Except violence isn't on the rise, as we showed in our "Sky isn't falling episode". And there's really no evidence that video games are the cause of violence anyway. Step away from my video games!

For those of you who came here for references, here are some:
@aaronecarroll
Tweetable

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Healthcare Triage: Violence and Video Games

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This one is near and dear to my heart:Everyone just knows that violence is on the rise, especially among kids. Everyone just knows that violent video games have something to do with it. Except violence isn't on the rise, as we showed in our "Sky isn't falling ep

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Playing violent video games is no more likely to be damaging to young children's behaviour than those considered harmless, an Oxford University study suggests.

Research involving British primary schoolchildren found that the length of time young people spend playing games, rather than their content, could have an effect on their behaviour or school performance - and even then only slightly so.

But it concluded that fears that a generation of young people are growing up with their development impaired by exposure to violent video games are no more likely to be borne out than previous "moral panics" over television and other media.

The study, published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media...

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Study finds no evidence violent video games make children aggressive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Playing violent video games is no more likely to be damaging to young children's behaviour than those considered harmless, an Oxford University study suggests. Research involving British primary schoolchildren found that the length of time young people spend playing games, rather than their content, could have an effect on their behaviour or school performance - and even then only slightly so.

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Opinion on violence in video games making kids be violent in real life

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Opinion on violence in video games making kids be violent in real life

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I believe that violence in video games do not lead to kids being more violent. Although there is violence in some games, kids know that it is all just a game and has almost no affect on their personality. " By age seven, children can distinguish fantasy from reality, and can tell the difference between video game violence and real-world violence." is said by Sasha Emmons from CNN and this tells us that kids know what is real in life and what games are. Factors at home can affect kids to be violence like domestic abuse. Nathan A Heflick P.h.D said, "Children learn their behaviors from adults. If we are to have a more peaceful world, it starts with the way adults act around children." shows that the solution to less violence could start with the parents being less violent with their kids because that is where they'll get the violence from. Kids can tell that violence in a game is all just pictures on a screen but when they experience or see it first hand, they actually take it more seriously because they know it is real.