Just because we’re now more than ever exposed to violent video games, does not necessarily mean we’re now a more violent generation and studies have proved this!
Online games come in so many formats these days, from console, PC, and mobile games, to the flashy casino games that we see designed by numerous software developers – online gaming has certainly announced its arrival and is here to stay.
Previous studies on this matter did try to instill this illusion in the past, the result of a recent research on the topic reveals that the hitherto held views that increase in violence among game players could be tied to exposure to games, is not true. This is based on a study involving 21,000 gamers from across the globe.
The research, which was carried out by the Massey University in New Zealand and spearheaded by Aaron Drummond, made a claim that constant video gaming does not make people more violent or more aggressive. To arrive at this conclusion, 28 meta-analytical studies connecting to violence were reanalyzed by Drummond.
Small Effect
His study revealed that the number of people that showed increased tendency towards aggression and violence were very few, and the correlation between the two subjects was not sizable enough to conclude that the aggression and violence tendencies were game induced. According to the researchers, the number involved is so small, and that it cannot even produce a small effect in a provable manner.
According to the report, which was published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, the current research failed to garner enough evidence to support the hypothesis that violent video games have a very meaningful impact on the current youth aggression witnessed in the world.
The study, which the study head analyzed, started as far back as 2008, and it only showed a very small amount of positive correlation between videogames and violence. According to the previous studies, more than a quarter of gamers were prone to real life violence. However, none of the studies was able to establish a concrete conclusion that links gamers to violence. In fact, a separate 2011 study revealed a negative correlation between gaming and aggression.
Accumulation of Micro Violence
The accumulation of micro violence has been said to be one negative effect of gaming, and that has been the only popular view against violent gaming. According to conclusions made by people that held this view, the gamer’s temperament may be altered over a long period of time, making them to become prone to aggression. But no evidence whatsoever has established such accumulation by the body, but an opposite picture was painted at the end.
According to the report from Drummond, there is nearly zero long term impact of violent games on the player’s aggression. The study acknowledges that most of the scientists and scholars had previously centered their purported link between gamers and aggression on very minute relationships between the two.
There are also many studies that have been trying to find out the types of emotional behavior that are linked to gaming. A 2018 research by the University of New South Wales discovered that violence prone gamers can easily avoid exhibiting violence and aggression in other areas of life.
I'm a published author and proud US Army veteran who happens to be a gamer, so I decided to combine the two and love every minute of it! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and I'll be sure to get back to you.
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