A new article by longtime US researcher, Jeanne Funk Brockmyer, finds that engaging in violent video games (VVG) desensitises the player, and blocks empathic responding, moral reasoning and prosocial behaviour. This in turn may increase aggression. The article adds to the growing body of research indicating that exposure to violent video games contributes towards desensitisation to violence. Brockmyer was a joint author along with Australia’s Wayne Warburton in the 2017 international study Screen violence and youth behaviour which concluded that “the evidence that violent screen media constitutes a causal risk factor for increased aggression is compelling. Modern social-cognitive theories of social behavior provide useful frameworks for understanding how and why these effects occur.”
Note: if you’d like to read more on this topic, here’s a link to a free copy of Game On! Sensible Answers about Video Games and Media Violence (2020)