Does Playing 'Grand Theft Auto' Games Mess With Your Reality?

We've heard it a million times from our parents "Those games with rot your brain!" 

but could they be right in this case?

Researchers used over 150 young male gamers aged 15-20 who had been playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City and San Andreas images of an adolescent girl who had been physically abused by a boy. Some of those young male gamers were shown Half-Life 2 and Dream Pinball, games WITHOUT a sexist component to observe the difference in reactions.

According to Metro they showed less empathy towards the woman.

Violent games WITHOUT a sexist component – such as Half-Life 2 – had no effect on the gamers’ response to the image of the abused women.

Lead researcher Brad Bushman of Ohio State University noted that in GTA games, women are secondary characters and most are prostitutes or strippers who are used as sexual objects by players.

‘Most people would look at these images and say the girl pictured has to be terrified. But males who really identified with their characters in the sexist, violent games didn’t feel as much empathy for the victim,’ said Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University.

It should also be noted that Grand Theft Auto games are illegal to play if you're under 18 years of age.