Grand Theft Auto IV is rated M = Mature and is not meant for kids below seventeen. But the question is should younger kids be allowed to play the game? There have been incidents when journalists and other experts claimed that crimes were committed in different parts of the country, by people who were highly inspired and influenced by GTA.

But, on the other hand, if we think about it we will see that children play with toys like guns and weapons right after they begin to play! There's been children pointing finger weapons at friends and yelling "BANG!"

Violence has existed in society and culture since the very start. Generations grew up on entertainment like The Three Stooges and cartoons. Again, CSI and its ninety different spin-offs get to display brutal depictions of murder, oceans of blood and the occasional shower of semen when it airs on CBS - for free, unrestricted and accessible to any age group.

There is nothing that has been said the graphic kills in games like HALO 3 or Gears of War 2. Statistically speaking, crime, all crime, has been in steady decline every year since the 1970's. So even though the media is speculating a correlation between violence and GTA, the numbers don't fit. As each successive Grand Theft Auto game sells more and more, the violent crime rate in America - assault, rape, murder, all that fun stuff - has plummeted.

Most surprisingly 2003 is the only year that saw a slight increase in violent crime injuveniles, andthatwasa year without a GTA game!!

They seem to completely overlook the fact that anyone web savvy enough to uncover the once inaccessible sex mode, or even download a nude patch, has unfettered access to endless streams of explicit, high-resolution, beautiful, pornography.

Of all the behavioral studies done, the only children who were shown to be more violent as a result of playing video games were the ones to show preexisting neuroses and aggressive tendencies. And even the ones who are prone to violent behavior can still experience a therapeutic calming by channeling their aggression in a place like ‘Liberty City'. Among several surprising facts were the positive effects games have on adolescent social interaction. As youth-based athletics grow increasingly scoreless, games maintain with a consistently positive level of competition and short term goals. Possibly due to the once removed nature of play games serve a much more vital role in modern day youth. It helps forge healthy relationships that can even transcend peer groups.

So the thing is it is illegal to let a 13 year old to play Grand Theft Auto IV but still one can argue on these points as ask as to why the kids should not be allowed to play something that is surely going to be helpful in releasing their aggression and also help them socialize in more ways than one. The media and the government should actually think about it and consult the psychologists to find out the truth of the whole matter.