Submission 7,632

Overview

Oxford "Violent Video Games" Study refers to a study conducted by the University of Oxford which tested the hypothesis that playing violent video games causes one to themselves become violent. The study found no correlation between violent video games and violent behavior, causing video game players who believed no correlation existed to celebrate.

Background

On February 13th, 2019, the University of Oxford published a report by the Oxford Internet Institute which found that there was no correlation found between playing violent video games and increased violent behaviors in teenagers.^[1] Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute, said, "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." Unlike previous studies which polled teens themselves about the effect of violent video games, the Oxford study used information taken from parents and caregivers. Study co-author Dr. Netta Weinstein also wrote that biases may have influenced previous studies, writing, 'Our findings suggest that researcher biases might have influenced previous studies on this topic, and have distorted our understanding of the effects of video games."

Developments

On March 10th, 2019, the Oxford Twitter^[2] account posted a link to the study, gaining over 8,600 retweets and 17,000 likes (shown below).

Oxford University @UniofOxford Follow V Violent video games found not to be associated with adolescent aggression: Researchers at @oiioxford have found no relationship between aggressive behaviour in teenagers and the amount of time spent playing violent video games: po.st/uYghG3 8:01 AM - 10 Mar 2019

The tweet was met with celebration and praise from gamers on Twitter, who believed it already confirmed their belief of no correlation between violent video games and violent behavior. Twitter user @Slasher tweeted "no shit" about the study, gaining over 1,100 retweets and 5,800 likes (shown below, left). Noted Super Smash Brothers Ultimate player MVD tweeted his response to the study, gaining over 210 retweets and 1,400 likes (shown below, right). Responses were covered by Dexerto.^[3]