Matt Walsh’s Gaming Argument Flawed

Debunking the Myth: Video Games Don’t Cause Violence

The Radical Left Isn’t the Only Threat to Gaming

While the radical left is clearly a threat to gaming, they’re not the only ones who could have a negative impact on it. Last week, Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh released a video where he stated that video games are at least partially responsible for desensitizing children to violence.

“It’s not good for kids to spend an exorbitant amount of time-consuming graphically violent content,” Walsh said. Sure, spending an exorbitant amount of time doing any one thing is always going to be an issue. But then he continued on, and this is where I think he made a mistake.

Walsh said, “Even if the content is fictional and virtual and imaginary. It doesn’t mean it has no influence just because it’s fictional. Among other things, it can have the effect of desensitizing the mind and soul to violence.”

While I have a deep respect for Walsh, and I can completely understand where he’s coming from, he’s just wrong on this one.

Debunking the Myth

Studies show that there’s no connection between violent video games and violent behavior. A 2019 study by Christopher Ferguson from Stetson University and C.K. John Wang from Nanyang Technological University found “no long-term predictive relationship between aggressive video games and future aggression in youth.”

Playing into fear-mongering surrounding video games is not the answer. It’s not helpful to alienate a group of people like gamers who are sick and tired of the woke left in their spaces. Video games are a hugely popular hobby, and it makes zero sense to try and punish players for indulging in something that makes them happy and is proven not to increase violence.

Age-Appropriate Games

Give kids age-appropriate games for sure, but let’s put to bed this idea that games like “Call of Duty” or “Grand Theft Auto” are causing horrific acts of violence because they’re not. It’s actively alienating a potential ally in the fight against the radical left, and it’s based on emotion and not truth. So, no, Matt Walsh, video games don’t cause violence.

Now with that said, who’s up for some “Mortal Kombat?”

Douglas Blair is a producer and special correspondent with “O’Connor Tonight” on the Salem News Channel.