"So, if you play a violent video game, you become more violent. More likely to run out there and sell drugs, kill hookers, and indiscriminately slaughter police officers. But if you play Guitar Hero II, you’re less likely to learn to play a guitar. You can’t have it both ways. Either video games inspire or demotivate. They can’t do both."
While I do not think that media directly causes behavior in a vacuum (predetermined tendencies have to exist), I do think that learning a skill the wrong way--playing a fake guitar--might have a detrimental effect on picking up a real one. At the very least, the expectation of being able to play a real guitar after playing GH might cause an individual to give up or practice in a lackluster fashion.
The GTA example does not offer an equivalent motor function to the real thing, but GH does. The brain (excluding an external tendency to the contrary) will "learn" how to play guitar the incorrect way, but the behaviors in GTA should not manifest unless, frankly, the person's already nutz.
So, I agree with the inspiration/demotivation concept, rather looking at the issue as a "fight how you train" situation. Imagine soldiers learning how to fight by playing Halo. Doesn't work.
