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Whether or not someone plays video games as a child, does not determine whether or not they will become aggressive or desensitized in the future. Whether or not one engages in violence majorly depends on one's relationship with either close ones or society.

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When playing violent video games, such as Grand Theft Auto, one would know that it is a simulation. If anything, they would have a better understanding of ethics and morals since the game displays it so violently. They would be aware that the game is only a simulation and would not apply it to real life.

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In yet another study on the subject, it shows that there is no link between playing violent video games and aggression in adolescents.

Courtesy of the Oxford Internet Institute and the University of Oxford, this new study was published in Royal Society Open Science and is being touted as being one of the most comprehensive studies on the subject to date.

That is because this study used a combination of subjective and objective data to measure teen aggression and violence in games. Compared to previous research on the subject, which relied on self-reported data from teenagers, this study used information from parents and carers to judge the level of aggressive behavior in their children.

What's more, the content of the video games was classified using the official PEGI and ESRB rating systems, rather than just the player's perceptions of the amount of violence in the game.

If you're curious about the sampling here, as you should be, then it comprised of British 14 to 15-year olds and an equal number of parents or carers, totaling 2,008 subjects in all.

The result of this thorough approach showed that there was no link between violent video games and teenage aggression, something that the lead researcher Professor Andrew Przybylski went on to clarify.

The idea that violent video games drive real-world aggression is a popular one, but it hasn't tested very well over time. Despite interest in the topic by parents and policy-makers, the research has not demonstrated that there is cause for concern.

As Przybylski points out, this is not the first study to show these kinds of results and it is getting to the point now, that blaming video games for outbursts of teenage related aggression holds no weight. However, he did admit that trash talking online and other such behavior warranted further study.

Not to mention we have all the counter studies that actually show that playing video games has clear cognitive benefits, so it really is about time that video games were no longer demonized as the cause for all of society's woes and accepted for what they are.
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New Study Shows That There Is No Link Between Violent Video Games And Aggression In Teenagers

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In yet another study on the subject, it shows that there is no link between playing violent video games and aggression in adolescents. Courtesy of the Oxford Internet Institute and the University of Oxford, this new study was published in Royal Society Open Science and is being touted as being one of the most comprehensive studies on the subject to date.

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How do Violent Video Games Affect Violence

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How do Violent Video Games Affect Violence

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The red line is video game consumption and the blue like the youth violence. There is no relation between the two that would encourage the idea that video games trigger more violence.

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Key points

There is no solid, irrefutable evidence that violent video games lead to aggressive behavior.

Many violent video games are scary and inappropriate for some kids.

Understanding each child's needs and creating a plan that sets out rules for usage is a sensible way to approach video games.

If you know a tween, teenager, or avid gamer, you have probably heard about the latest video game phenomenon: Fortnite. In the game's Battle Royale mode, up to 100 players parachute into a small island, scavenge for armor and weapons, and then kill or hide from other players in an attempt to be the lone survivor. The game's cartoonish violence and quirky features-including costumes and custom dance moves-have attracted more than 125 million players across all the globe since its release last September.

While not overly gory, the premise for Fortnite is inherently violent; the primary goal is to kill other players. The popularity of these types of games, and this one in particular, raises clear questions about the effects of violent gaming. Specifically, do violent video games lead to real-life violence?

The research on this question is mixed. For decades, researchers have conducted studies to find out whether violent video games lead to problems such as aggression, lack of empathy, and poor performance in school. Many studies have found that people who play violent video games are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior. In fact, there was enough research leading to this conclusion that the American Psychological Association (APA) published a policy statement in 2015 concluding that playing violent video games leads to more aggressive moods and behaviors and detracts from the players' feeling of empathy and sensitivity to aggression.

But a large contingent of researchers focused on pediatric and adolescent health disagree. In fact, a group of 230 scholars from universities across the globe published an open letter in 2013 calling the APA's stance on violent video games "misleading and alarmist." And many of those same scholars spoke out after the 2015 policy statement.

Last summer, a division within the APA focused on the media published their own statement advising government officials and the news media to avoid attributing acts of violence to video games or other violent media. Here's why:

Large analyses of violent crime and video violent game use find no evidence that increased sales of violent video games lead to a spike in violent crimes. Researchers make the case that if violent games directly led to violent behavior, the data would show increases in violent crime on a large scale as more people played violent games. In fact, there is some evidence that as more youth play video games, rates of youth violence have decreased.

A recent analysis finds that research on video games is prone to false positives and false negatives, which leads to faulty conclusions.

Another review finds that much of the research on violence and video games is affected by publication bias; essentially, studies that concluded that video games lead to aggression and violence are more likely to be published than studies that find violent video games don't have an effect on violence. As a result, large reviews of the data conclude violent video games lead to aggression without considering research to the contrary.

There is emerging research that finds no link between violent games and negative outcomes, such as reduced empathy, aggression, and depression.

That's a lot of conflicting perspectives, so what's the take-home message here? First, there is no solid, irrefutable evidence that violent video games lead to aggressive behavior. That does not mean that every game is for every child. Certainly, many violent video games are scary and inappropriate for some kids. Understanding each child's needs and creating a plan that sets out rules for media use and monitors kids' activities on screens is a sensible way to approach video games.
Please visit Cornell University's Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research's website for more information on our work solving human problems. LinkedIn Image Credit: Littlekidmoment/Shutterstock

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Do Violent Video Games Make Kids More Violent?

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Research explains they may not be as destructive as we think.