Violent Video Game Advertising: Is it ethical?
Mary Ashley Badgett
Communication Ethics
November 6, 2013

Violent Video Game Advertising: Is it ethical?
Section I: Summary
Controversy over violent video games resurfaced in 1999, when two armed high school students instantly became killers of their peers. On April 20, 1999, at a Colorado high school, known as Columbine High, two students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris opened fire, shooting 20 people and killing 13. The media revealed that Harris and Klebold constantly played violent video games, including “Wolfenstein 3D,” “Doom,” and “Mortal Combat.” Following the allegations of the Columbine case, it was announced that the rapid use of violent video games perhaps caused the tragedy to occur (Columbine Massacre). Is it ethical to advertise video games that display violence and encourage violent behaviors, specifically on television networks such as Nick and Cartoon Network, channels subjected to children?
According to the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, advertising has a pervasive influence on children and adolescents. Per year, young people on an average view more than 40,000 ads on television alone, not including the types of advertising one could be exposed to in magazines, on the internet, or in school.
“Video games carry ratings, and supposedly no one under 16 is able to buy a "mature" game, but the Federal Trade Commission found more than two-thirds of underage teens could buy such violent video games (The Christian Science Monitor).” It is not ethical to advertise video games that use violence on television networks where the audience is typically younger children; the reason it isn’t ethical is because most video games are rated “mature” meaning they are directly made for the older audience. Especially on television networks that are targeted towards children, it