If you are a major gamer, it is likely that you have heard the popular claim, “video games cause violence”. For years, parents have been concerned that video games, especially violent ones, increase aggression in our youth. Long-term research is here to challenge that claim. In a longitudinal study, researchers had participants play the popular game Grand Theft Auto V daily for two months. The results? There were no significant changes in aggression or empathy. This was consistent when compared to another group who played the game The Sims 3 in a control group. Even after a follow-up, two months after the study, the findings remained stable. 

So why do so many believe that video games can be a cause of aggression? Researchers can explain this by looking at trends in scientific literature. A lot of early claims that connect video games to aggression were influenced by overstated evidence and publication bias. When researchers accounted for the bias, the impact of video games on violent behavior was found to be small or nonexistent. With the connection to violence being unsupported by many researchers, interestingly enough, some meta-analyses have found a positive relationship between playing video games and improved visual cognition. This new information suggests that video games can provide cognitive benefits rather than negative effects!

Another important point that researchers have started to look into is the idea that people who have high levels of aggression may be more likely to play violent video games in the first place. This would mean that the relationship between video games and violence/aggression is not quite what people think. Instead of games causing violent behavior, people who are more competitive or aggressive may prefer games that match their personality or interests. This distinction helps explain why studies can find a connection between violent video games and aggression without proving that video games are the cause.

It is helpful to look at the role that violence plays in our society. Violence is frequently shown in movies, television shows, news coverage, and sports. Yet, video games are typically the recipients of blame when there are concerns of aggression in youth. Researchers argue that focusing only on video games can ignore larger societal factors, like family environments, stress, peer influence, and community conditions! Video games can offer a safe outlet for competition, stress relief, and social connection with friends. 

        Sources

Kühn, S., Kugler, D. T., Schmalen, K., Weichenberger, M., Witt, C., & Gallinat, J. (2019). Does playing violent video games cause aggression? A longitudinal intervention study. Molecular psychiatry, 24(8), 1220–1234. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0031-7

Ferguson C. J. (2007). The good, the bad and the ugly: a meta-analytic review of positive and negative effects of violent video games. The Psychiatric quarterly, 78(4), 309–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-007-9056-9

Hilgard, J., Engelhardt, C. R., & Rouder, J. N. (2017). Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010). Psychological bulletin, 143(7), 757–774. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000074