A few days ago, I had the opportunity to babysit my little nephew while my brother and his wife went on one of their weekly date nights. During this time, I allowed my four-year-old nephew to watch some cartoons before his bedtime. In the midst of watching these cartoons, I began to notice something strange. Every single time a commercial break would come on, I noticed that all the commercials were targeted towards children. Advertisements about toys, sugary candies, and many other items kids would be interested in appeared one after another. This incident really got me wondering, is it ethical for marketers to place children as their target market? In other words, is marketing specifically to children ethical? The Dangers The first question we should be asking, is how does marketing actually affect the young kids who come into contact with it? Dr. Susan Linn, director of Free-Childhood marketing, stated that “advertising in and of itself is harmful to children. Marketing tar...
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If you see someone in need, and you are able to help them, are you morally obligated to do so? This topic is very similar to the Parable of the Sadhu generated in class. My interest in this question was sparked while watching, of all things, the classical sitcom Seinfeld. The link below is the exact clip that I watched and demonstrates a great example of a real-life application to my topic. https://youtu.be/zPnK0NCn_MQ Are we morally obligated to help someone in need? Many views and/or arguments suggest that this is the case. Utilitarianism is a moral view that requires generating the most amount of good for the highest number of people possible. The only way this can be done is through philanthropy and serving your fellow man. One might also argue that this follows under the “Golden Rule”, that is do unto others as you want them to do unto you. In other words, one’s life should be led by treating people the way you would want them to treat you. Similarly, one such philo...