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Gaming Obsession

10.20.13
Gaming Obsession

The Rockstar game, Grand Theft Auto V, can both tame you and entertain you.

I can’t even go on Facebook or Instagram anymore without seeing someone post videos of themselves playing Grand Theft Auto V. It seems like all of my peers are obsessed.

Lots of people worry that there's a connection between crime and this particular game. And they point to examples like the eight year old that shot his grandmother just minutes after playing it.

I wonder if the opposite could also be true: that this game convinces people to commit crimes in the game -- instead of in real life. After all, you can play the game with your friends while they’re at home.

But even then, there are negative effects of being isolated in a virtual world. I’ve started noticing more of my peers losing interest in their outside life and schoolwork.

In my opinion, it’s not the game itself that is bad. But if the obsession takes over your life, that's when the game starts to own you, even though you own it.

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