Why is Grand Theft Auto 5 Still Popular?

"Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games."

Grand Theft Auto 5

Most people have played, or at least heard of GTA 5, the best-selling entertainment product in history, beating every movie and video game ever released to date. While most only see the controversial side of GTA, a lot of people don't really understand what makes the game so popular, and why it still remains so popular almost 7 years after it's release.

GTA Online Casino DLC

GTA 5 remains popular because of its constantly updated city, Los Santos, a recreation of Los Angeles. For example, every Christmas, the city is covered in snow, and Christmas trees are placed randomly throughout the city. Small things like this are what makes GTA so fun to play. To many, Grand Theft Auto 5 is more like a place to hang out and have fun with your friends, than it is a video game.

Male Friends Playing Video games

To this day, GTA 5 is the "best-selling entertainment product in history, eclipsing any medium" and the game still doesn't show any sign of slowing down. Almost 7 years after its release, regular updates are still being added to this video game, In fact, one was released only a week or two ago. With over 6 Billion $ made from GTA sales and micro transactions alone, this game will most likely continue to be extremely successful, at least until GTA 6 is released.

Los Santos

Sources:

"Grand Theft Auto 5 PS4." Game Stop

www.gamestop.com/video-games/playstation-4/games/products/grand-theft-auto-v/10115462.html.

Accessed 20 Dec. 2019.

Hall, Charlie. GTA Online Casino Heist. Polygon, 10 Dec. 2019

www.polygon.com/2019/12/10/21004851/gta-5-and-gta-online-new-radio-station.

Accessed 20 Dec. 2019.

King, Jade. Los Santos. Trusted Reviews, 27 July 2016,

www.trustedreviews.com/news/turbocharge-gta-5-s-graphics-with-the-new-naturalvision-mod-2943892.

Accessed 20 Dec. 2019.

Reed, Chris. Two Male Friends In Pajamas Playing Videogames. Cheat Sheet, 23 August 2016

www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/6-ways-ps4-is-better-xbox-one.html/. Accessed 20 Dec. 2019.

Stuart, Keith. "Why are people still buying Grand Theft Auto V." The Guardian, 8 Feb. 2017

www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/08/why-are-people-still-buying-grand-theft-auto-v.

Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Are Smart TV's Really Secure?

Smart TV's may be the future of television, but they also come with many problems. Recently, hackers have found a way to compromise your smart TV, and gain access to your personal information. To make matters worse, Smart TV's are now equipped with microphones and cameras, making it easier for hackers to stalk you digitally, anytime they want to.

You may think that just because you don't own a Smart TV, that your safe from being hacked. Sadly, any device connected to a WiFi network can be hacked, and any device with a camera or microphone can be used to spy on you.

After reading this, you may be wondering how to protect yourself from these attacks. The answer is pretty simple, setup a firewall. When we use WiFi, it is made easy to use, so everyone can access it without a problem. The problem with WiFi, is that its just as easy for hackers to access your WiFi, as it is for friends and family. By using a firewall and stronger passwords, you prevent hackers from gaining access to your information, keeping you and your family safe from potential attacks.

With our world becoming more and more digital, more problems arise. Imagine what would happen if all the devices in your house were hacked. Hackers could turn off lights, play sounds at high volumes, change the heat in your house, etc. Hacking is a serious problem, and more scary than we've ever thought.

Sources:

Hacker. PYMNTS, 2 May 2019,

www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2019/sap-software-vulnerable-hack/. Accessed 12

Dec. 2019.

Karcz, Anthony. Toshiba Smart TV. Forbes, 2 Dec. 2019,

www.forbes.com/sites/ anthonykarcz/2019/12/02/cyber-monday-2019-the-best-smart-tv-

deals/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.

"LG Camera in Smart TV." Youtube, uploaded by Drop Zon Earth, 6 Apr. 2013,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpcXUoBNZzc. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.

Suciu, Peter. "Your Smart TV Could Give Hackers a Window on Your World." TechNewsWorld, 6 Dec. 2019, www.technewsworld.com/story/86399.html. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.

The Pros And Cons Of Social Media

Social Media comes with many advantages and disadvantages. Although some people believe social media brings more negatives than positives, I believe the opposite.

Teen Social Media Survey

On the Pro Con website, a question was raised. "Are Social Networking Sites Good For Society?" One of the reasons given for Social Media being positive is that "Social Media spreads information faster than any other media." This fact is definitely true, as there have been many cases where this fact has been proved, like the Boston Marathon bombings and the Aurora Colorado theater shooting.

In the current day, even our President uses twitter as much as we do, just because of the speed at which information can be shared through social media. Social Media is everywhere in our world, as 78.5% of traditional media reporters polled admitted to using social media to check for breaking news.

Donald Trump Twitter

Social media also comes with many other positives, like how Law Enforcement can use social media to catch and prosecute criminals. In another poll done, "73% of federal, state and local law enforcement professionals surveyed think 'Social media helps solve crimes more quickly.'"

I believe that the police taking advantage of social media is a good thing, as it allows them to do their jobs more efficiently, and keep our society safe as best they can.

Although Social Media has many positives, it also has negatives. Some of these negatives are shown on the Pro Con website, like the fact that Social Media "Enables The Spread of Unreliable and False Information." In another poll, "64% of people who use Twitter for news say that they have encountered something they 'later discovered wasn't true.'" This shows how the reach and spread of information on Social Media can be a bad thing

Luckily, Americans are now much more informed on fake news than we ever were before, and I've found that fake news is often easily spotted, if your willing to take a few steps to check the background of the news articles you read.

After researching this topic more thoroughly, I now fully believe that Social Media brings more positives than negatives, and I believe we should all continue to use Social Media as usual.

Sources:

"Are Social Networking Sites Good For Our Society?" Pro Con, 17 Aug. 2018, 

          socialnetworking.procon.org/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019. 

Cillizza, Chris. What Donald Trump's Unsettlingly Erratic 24 Hours on Twitter 

          tells us. CNN Politics, 23 Apr. 2019, 

          www.cnn.com/2019/04/23/politics/donald-trump-twitter/index.html. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.

Knight, Shawn. "Teen Social Media Survey." Techspot, 29 Nov. 2018,
          www.techspot.com/news/77624-teens-feel-social-media-positives-outweigh-negatives.html.      

          Accessed 25 Nov. 2019. 

Social Media's Role In Law Enforcement Growing. Pinterest, May 2019,
          www.pinterest.com/pin/411727590906643776/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019. 

Wendling, Mike. "Fake News." BBC, 22 Jan. 2018, 

          www.bbc.com/news/ blogs-trending-42724320. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.

Is Human Gene Editing A Good Thing?

Altering human genes has been a very controversial topic for a long time. Although scientists have found many great benefits to gene editing, humans generally believe that messing with our DNA is a bad idea. 

Humans In 10 Years

In an article posted by Pew Research, a survey was conducted in the hopes to discover how U.S. adults feel about future biomedical technologies. In this survey, the results show that most people are against new possible human enhancements. For example, one possible future invention is a brain chip implant to give humans greatly improved cognitive abilities, like a greater attention span, memory and faster information processing.

The results for this section of the survey found that 34% of adults are excited for this technology, while 69% are worried about this new technology. Another interesting point brought up in this article, is how religious people seem to be more against altering their natural genes.

Gene Editing

The most interesting part of this article, in my opinion, is the altering of human embryo's genes. The article states that we could see "Gene editing to give babies a lifetime with much reduced risk of serious disease" in our future.

Fetus Gene Editing

Although the other two examples shown in this article were criticized by Americans greatly, the idea of altering babies genes was more positively received. With 49% of Americans believing embryo gene editing to be a good idea, this shows that gene editing could realistically happen soon in our countries future.

Perfect Baby

Finally, human gene editing, a technology you'd only expect to see in Sci-fi movies is finally becoming a reality. Although this new science may come with many Pros and Cons, our country will first have to decide whether we want to push the limits of the human body, to become something we've never thought to be possible.

Sources:

"Gene Editing." GEN, Mary Ann Liebert, 1 November 2019,         

          www.genengnews.com/sponsored/improve-your-gene-editing-success-with-crispr-sniper- 

          technology/  Accessed 15 Nov. 2019. 

Harry Pettit. "Humans In 10 Years." Daily Mail, 23 Dec. 2016,         

          www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4061132/What-humans-look-like-100-years-Expert-

          reveals-genetically-modified-bodies-ll-need-survive.html  Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.


Perfect Baby. Economist,
          www.economist.com/leaders/2015/08/22/editing-humanity.  Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.


Pew Research. 2 Nov. 2016,
          www.pewresearch.org/science/2016/07/26/u-s-public-wary-of-biomedical-technologies-to-
          enhance-human-abilities/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.


Rathi, Akshat. "A highly successful attempt at genetic editing of human embryos has opened the door to eradicating inherited diseases ." Quartz, 2 Aug. 2017,
          qz.com/1041609/a-highly-successful-attempt-at-genetic-editing-of-human-embryos-has-opened-
          the-door-to-eradicating-inherited-diseases/.  Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.