Is Grand Theft Auto Going to Turn My Son Into a Killing Machine?

Video games have gained an ENORMOUS amount of popularity and accessibility over the years of my lifetime, and it is completely amazing to me how much the video game culture has become engrained in our society. I have mixed feelings about this cultural phenomenon, seeing how when I was growing up, Mrs. Pac-Man was the only game I was ever interested in. Times have certainly changed since then, and I’m afraid that I am a little bit more out of the loop than I would like to be.

The reasons for wanting to know more about them is not for my own benefit, however, but because the knowledge of gaming is an effective and powerful weapon when it comes to parenting. My kids are so interested in everything that hit’s the shelves that it is important, no, imperative that I am fully aware of every aspect of the games our family chooses to entertain itself with. It was easier when they were younger, when Frogger or Mario where characters that could hold my children’s attention for more that 5 minutes. Now that my son is entering the pre-teen stage, I am constantly questioning the games he is playing- especially when they-re not being played under our roof. When I compare the games that are popular now to those of my youth, I worry simply because I have noticed a general rise in violence with the youth along with the increasing popularity of video games that center around brutality, and it is my belief that video games are a contributing factor to this.

So what game in particular am I wary of? Grand Theft Auto. I can see its appeal, I can understand (to a point) the argument that it’s “just a game,” but I find it really hard to find a balance between good cop and bad cop when other parents don’t seem to be bothered by the contents of it. So what do I do? Research.

John Leo posted an article in US News and World Report in 1999 titled, “When Life Imitates Video,” and even though I had read it when it was originally published, I still hear its lingering warning statements every time my child asks for a violent-themed video game. Leo argues,

“But there is a cultural problem here: We are now a society in which the chief form of play for millions of youngsters is making large numbers of people die. Hurting and maiming others is the central fun activity in video games played so addictively by the young. A widely cited survey of 900 fourth-through-eighth-grade students found that almost half of the children said their favorite electronic games involve violence. Can it be that all this constant training in make-believe killing has no social effects?”

This is the question that Leo seeks to answer throughout his article, which basically argues that video games are directly linked to the rise in violence, and that playing them is pretty much a “dress rehearsal” for the actual performance of these things. I don’t know about you, but I am fearful of the things entering my child’s mind as he plays these games, and as much as I don’t want to believe that he could be brainwashed by a seemingly harmless activity, I don’t know that I am willing to take the chance.

On the IGN website, I did a little digging and found a review on Grand Theft Auto IV. I wonder if you’ll be as shocked as I was.

Grand Theft Auto IV
This is the American dream.
By Hilary Goldstein
April 25, 2008 - "Criminals are an ugly, cowardly lot more worthy of pity and disdain than admiration. This is what you'll learn playing through the single-player campaign in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. The series cheered (and criticized) for glorifying violence has taken an unexpected turn: it's gone legit. Oh sure, you'll still blow up cop cars, run down innocent civilians, bang hookers, assist drug dealers and lowlifes and do many, many other bad deeds, but at a cost to main character Niko Bellic's very soul."

Would I have been surprised had I bought this game before discovering what it was really all about! One could probably draw the immoral themes of Grand Theft Auto simply from the title alone, but nothing could have prepared me for what to expect better than this review by Goldstein! I didn’t even think of the possibility that my son might already know what “banging hookers” actually means, but the fact that this game could have taught him that outrages me! Sure, they rate the game “M” for mature in the attempt to prevent underage kids from playing, but the fact that its out there and that they are aware of its existence only fuels their desire to play it. I guess I am disappointed that Rockstar Games would create a game that sends such immoral messages to our society, targeting the younger generations simply by cultural coincidence.

I suppose that I should acknowledge that they do warn players of the content of the game, admitting that it contains: “Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Use of Drugs and Alcohol.” In all reality, those things are appealing to young people because they are the very definition of wrong! By telling kids what’s in the game, Rockstar Games is creating the frenzy they wanted all along.

I am severely disappointed and appalled that a game like this could potentially influence the children of the world in a negative way, and I wish there was a way to prevent it being on the shelves of our stores. I will not accept the desensitization and promotion of immoral activity that this video game series offers, and I urge fellow parents and human beings to do the same.

Works Cited:
Goldstein, Hilary. “Grand Theft Auto IV This is the American Dream.” IGN Entertainment. April 5, 2008. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1 .html

Leo, John. “When Life Imitates Video.” US News and World Report. April 25, 1999. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/990503/archive_000875.htm