So last time I left off wondering about the moral choices one is given while playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Though once you start the missions, you are typically obliged to hurt/kill “enemies,” one’s own personal style of game play seems to be of some indication of their maturity level. I reflected on how as a teenager playing GTA, I used to show no remorse, almost more so when I was not on a mission. I was having some sort of fun driving crazily through the streets running people over and making things explode; am I strange for this? In retrospect, I don’t think so. The reason I don’t think this is strange is because my thought process at the time was not necessarily morbid as far as intent was concerned. My real concern as a young adult nowadays is more geared towards those teens playing a game such as this who look at the game and its functions differently. It is possible that others may see the killing of innocents, police, and other bystanders as a more realistic aspect of not only the game, but of life.
We have to be careful of games being perceived this way because as we have seen with some youths, video game violence can act as a catalyst for real life violence. Thinking further into it, it seems like just yesterday I was practicign the Stone Cold Stunner on my younger cousins. Granted this is a wrestling example, it is still applicable. The danger here is that, even though we were just playing around, someone could have gotten seriously hurt. Taking this example and learning from it, is it that unimaginable to think that a young teen might misappropriate the purpose of guns/violence in their perception as it relates to society? So with this said, I believe games like GTA: San Andreas can actually be a very dangerous one if put in the wrong hands. Perhaps the most dangerous piece of the gameplay in my opinion is the gang mentality upon which the game is founded. Does this promote such activity?
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Apr 19th, 2010 at 11:51:12.
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