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Do kids play GTA?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by GamePlaya on -
I started playing GTA when I was 11. I'm 20 now and nothing bad has ever happened. I think as long as kids understand the difference between what is fictional and what is realistic there shouldn't be a problem. The point they have to understand is that it is just a video game and nothing in it is acceptable in "the real world". Although, some degree of intelligence is required for such an understanding. I also believe the parents should be actively involved the playing of the video game too, which also requires some intelligence to control it.
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Permalink Reply by Wandering I on -
agreed. nothing pisses me off more than when something happens that is completely unrelated and they blame it on a game. Like I heard a few years ago that they were trying to sue midway and the mortal kombat team because some kid decided to stab his friend. First off, if the kid was stupid enough to stab his buddy, he deserves whatever he gets. And second, if he did it, he's obviously got anger issues that stem from other places in his life besides video games.
If anything, parents should be THANKING the MK team because there first mk was practically the reason we even have a rating system for parents to igonore....lol
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Permalink Reply by Justen on -
It's a chicken and egg problem - or more accurately, a correlation vs. causation problem. Video games in which the character or tone is aggressive raises aggression in the player, naturally; aggression hormones are stimulated and until they wear off the player is in a more aroused (aggressive) state. This lasts about 30 minutes, and has been confirmed in multiple in-depth studies. What has not been demonstrated, despite many attempts, is that playing violent games coincides with a pattern of generally increased aggression - that is, that there are long term affects. What is also seldom discussed is that "traditional play" - sports, especially - causes far greater hormone production and thus far greater aggressive behavior (let alone that sports, often lauded by traditionalists and anti-gaming advocates, causes tens of thousands of lifelong injuries and hundreds of deaths in children every year whereas video games cause almost none, even accounting for horrific violent acts that are often blamed on them). It doesn't take a genius to observe that children who play sports tend to be especially violent, aggressive, and abusive toward their peers - nor for that matter does it take a genius to observe that children who's chief hobby is gaming do *not* tend to be the same children who act out violently around others.
Further complicating the question is the fact that generally violent children who play video games tend to play violent video games more often than those who are not violent. Take away the video games, however, and the violence remains. In truth, aggressive behavior stems from much deeper problems than Grand Theft Auto - childhood trauma, physical and sexual abuse by parents and authority figures, social status, and other factors are much stronger indicators of violence than video game playing. In typical fashion, irresponsible parents and caregivers want to reduce their child's problem to something they can control and place blame on; the most obvious external cause that can't be laid at their feet. This is rationalization, a way of denying psychologically with the fact that their failings as parents have produced their child's problems. It's been going on for a long, long, long time - before video games it was Led Zepplin and comic books, before that it was scientists turning them away from God (and ugh, still is). When it comes to shitty parents, it's always someone else's fault the kid is acting out - in their own eyes, they are blameless. TO accept otherwise would be to admit mistake and suggest a change of behavior, both things totally contrary to an abusive parenting style.
That said, graphic violence and sexuality are not necessarily good for kids (or adults) just because they don't cause real harm. Is playing GTA the most fulfilling or productive thing a person of any age can do? Probably not, but who's the judge of what's best? After all, science demonstrates that video game playing stimulates growth and development of the brain vastly more than some other leisure activities, particularly television; so playing GTA is still a step better than watching Spongebob reruns from a childhood development standpoint. It comes down to personal judgement - for an adult, his own judgement; for a child, his parents'.
Personally, I played, and found stimulating and fulfilling, games like GTA from a pretty early age. It increased my interest in exploration, problem solving, and computers and led me to a fulfilling and challenging career. Anecdote, yes, but I thank Rockstar Games for making me a complete adult much more than I thank the range of variously abusive authority figures in my life - especially school teachers. Not to dis my parents, but frankly, games did more for me than they did in some areas of my life too.
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Permalink Reply by Stefan on -
WOW that is the longest reply I saw so far. But it has some very good points.
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Permalink Reply by Wandering I on
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+1. Very well thought out.
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Permalink Reply by jake on -
yea me and my dad were fixing a hot water system for a frieds friend and their kids who didnt even look 10 or ever 8 had and xbox and were playing vice city.... i never got into gta till about now and i am 15 now and you can buy ma rated games legaly when you turn 15 here
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