The scientific evidence continues to prove that violent video games DO NOT promote real world violence or decrease empathy.
A recent neuroimaging study published in eLife has found that playing violent video games does not decrease empathy in players. This finding challenges the popular notion that exposure to video game violence desensitizes people to real-world suffering.
The debate around violent video games and their potential effects on behavior is not new. For years, researchers, educators, and parents have voiced concern that the graphic violence depicted in many popular games could lead to a desensitization and an increase in aggressive tendencies among young players.
Many past studies associating video games with gun violence have similarly been quashed. Specifically, earlier this year, Stanford researchers published a pivotal review where 82 medical studies used to demonstrate video games as a cause of gun violence were debunked and found to have no validity.
