The findings are being disputed by the $3 billion a year video gaming industry and an army of game players and experts who say the research can't be supported by the facts.

Now new research claims it's a fact.

"The time in a person's lifespan when they play the most is between eleven and fourteen, and that tends to be in the lifespan where people are playing the most hours," lecturer in psychology Dr Wayne Warburton said.

• A new age of gaming
• Gadgets of the future
• Get your game on

According to Dr Warburton that's the worst age for teens to be playing violent video games because it is making them angry.

“The more you have exposure to violent media, there is an increased likelihood of aggressive behaviour, an increased likelihood that you are going to see the world as hostile and dangerous," Dr Warburton said.

Hundreds of studies have been conducted around the world trying to find a link between violence on TV, in movies and games with crime and violent behaviour.

Today Tonight's latest electronics stories

It is an international problem, but gamers and game makers dispute the new findings.

Seamus Byrne is from the tech-review website CNet - a gamer and a father of young children - says he's aware of the dangers but thinks they're exaggerated.

“So long as you limit the exposure that people are seeing and participating in, then it's not all that harmful," Byrne said.

More stories from reporter David Richardson

Editor of Gamespot Dan Chiappini road tests video games and is comfortable with the media violence rating system.

“With the R-18 a match up for G, PG, M, M-15 and R rating that film has, so just like there are films created for a mature audience, games are exactly the same,” Chiappini said.

“I find it interesting that World of Warcraft continually gets dragged into the violent video games debate. I played that for a long time and to the best of my knowledge I have never beaten anyone up as a result of killing dragons," Chiappini said.

The latest gaming news from Yahoo!7 Technology

Everyone agrees that it's up to parents to control their children's game and violent content exposure themselves.

“As with all these things, when people focus on the impact on young children, that ultimately parents should be making solid decisions about how they let their kids play games," Byrne said.

Classifications are continually monitored and adjusted by the Government but experts now want the new research taken into account as children get access to digital media at an even earlier age.

“I'm advocating that the people who make the decisions listen to the science, listen to the evidence and make evidence based decisions," Dr Warburton concluded.