I have noticed that there has been a massive increase in the number of stories like this that I have seen over the past few years but (much like stories of violent weather) seeing more stories doesn't mean that it is happening more, just that there are a lot more people who are motivated to tell you about it ...
People are sort of like carpenters who end up creating their lives with the tools they have available to them; some of these tools are used for construction while others are used for demolition and successful people choose the right tool for the right job at the right time. Children start out with a very limited set of very crude tools and through education and experience they can increase the quantity and quality of tools at hand, and they can learn the appropriate way to use the tools in the most beneficial way.
The type of parent who would expose their children at an amazingly young age to a game like Grand Theft Auto are probably not taking the necessary steps to ensuring that their child has a well developed sense of empathy.
