Ethics Essay - Thank you for Smoking

The idea that “just because something is legal doesn’t make it right” really stood out to me when thinking about advertising, especially after watching Thank You for Smoking. The movie shows how someone can successfully defend and promote a harmful product simply by being persuasive. We see these typers of scenarios all the time in todays world. I would argue the way a product is marketed reflects on how many sales it gets. Good marketing, great sales, poor marketing, not so great sales. I think I would be able to do the same job as Nick, but it would be morally difficult. 

The salary would make it very tempting. If I were offered $100,000 or even $200,000 a year, it would be hard to turn down. But at the same time, I think I would struggle knowing that my work could contribute to people harming their health. For some people, money talks and this would be no issue at all. But, for someone like me, I would struggle to promote this product. Just because tobacco or vaping products are legal to advertise doesn’t mean it’s morally right to promote them, especially when companies are aware of the risks. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, a significant usage of e-cigarette use by adolescents has been observed over the last decade. The article also looks at how teens are affected by nicotine and marijuana. This shows how marketing can influence vulnerable audiences, even when companies claim they are targeting adults. 

While the journalists methods were aggressive, she facinated me. I think she was justified in exposing the truth about how the tobacco industry operates. If companies are intentionally hiding harmful information, then bringing that to light serves the public good and is a morally correct thing to do. In this case, I think that is was the correct thing to do. Since people know how harmful the product is, they can now make informed decisions on their own and chose whether or not to continue using the product. 

When it comes to banning advertising for harmful products like cigarettes, alcohol, or gambling, I’m torn. On one hand, these products can clearly cause harm, so limiting their promotion could protect public health. On the other hand, the First Amendment protects commercial speech to some extent, and completely banning ads could raise legal concerns. Personally, I think there should be stricter regulations rather than total bans, especially when it comes to targeting younger audiences.

The issue becomes even more complicated with marijuana. Even though it is still illegal at the federal level, many states allow it and advertise it openly. I find many people chose to ignore how harmful it can truly be, because it makes them "feel good". Because of the internet, those ads can reach people in states where it is illegal. This issue specifically highlights how inconsistent laws can be. I believe something should be legal/illegal in ALL states, not just a game of picking and choosing.

Overall, this topic made me realize that advertising isn’t just about creativity or persuasion, it also involves real ethical responsibility and moral knowledge. Just because you can promote something doesn’t always mean you should, and that’s a line every communicator has to decide for themselves. 

How AI will affect my major

 AI is basically changing the game for social media and digital communication majors. It’s not some far-off future thing, because it’s already here. It picks what shows up on our feeds and helps brands figure out exactly who to target. If you’re majoring in social media or digital comm like me, learning how to use AI isn’t optional anymore, it’s part of the job.

AI tools can write captions, suggest hashtags, edit videos and analyze engagement in seconds. That means less time doing repetitive tasks and more time focusing on big-picture strategy. But it also means the competition is higher. If everyone has access to the same tools, what makes you stand out? Your creativity, your understanding of culture and your ability to build a real brand voice.

The good news is AI can’t replace authenticity. It doesn’t truly understand trends the way people do, and it definitely doesn’t “get” humor or nuance like Gen Z does. We have already seen several instances where fake AI videos have been published on social media, and people beleive they are actually real and run with it. That’s where communication majors still win. The real skill is knowing how to guide AI, not just rely on it or use it to spread fake messages.

There’s also a responsibility that comes with it. AI can spread misinformation fast, and digital communicators will need to think about ethics, transparency and trust more than ever.

At the end of the day, AI isn’t stealing social media jobs, it’s evolving them. If you learn how to use it strategically, you’re not behind, you’re ahead.

Eight Values of Free Expression

     Free speech is a core value in America that sets the tone of our culture. Without it, life would be very different, extremely boring, and it would take away how people express themselves. When reflecting on the Eight Values of Free Expression, the value the resonates with me the most is promoting tolerance. Free expression maters because it teaches people how to coexist with ideas and perspectives they may strongly disagree with, rather than trying to silence them.

      In our society today, you see things all time about boycotting stores because of their political beliefs, and unfollowing people on social media who post things that you don't agree with. I do not think this is a healthy way to live, which is why promoting tolerance is important to me. On various social media platforms, users are often censored for things that they post. People are easily offended by ones words, and tend to think certain opinions are hateful, instead of hearing them out and have a conversation about why they are offended by said thing. This is one of the biggest things that bother me whether its online, or in person. The culture of trying to "cancel" someone because of what they believe is making our society take steps backwards, instead of forwards. The reason we have free speech is to civilly disagree with one another, because without disagreements what a boring world we would live in! Tolerance also strengthens confidence in ones own beliefs. Speaking to others about deep topics forces you to think critically and really articulate why you believe what you do. Charlie Kirk was a prime example of this value, and his open dialogue and discussions was an incredible way of promoting tolerance through tough conversations. Promoting tolerance does not mean you have to agree with every idea, it instead focuses on defending our right to speak, while respectfully exercising our right to criticize and disagree. 

    The issue of censorship on social media is a prime issue in our society today. Whether on the left or right, each side has twisted or shut down a story to make the other side look bad or to prevent information from getting out. For example, this article by CNN talks about how the Trump US TikTok is off to a rough start, due to users being censored when trying to post anti-ICE videos. Although this is categorized as hate speech, it is still a first amendment right and is protected. Therefore being censored even thought its hateful is wrong. Now if its becomes violent/life threatening, then that escalates. On the flip side, the main reason Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X) was to promote free speech and make algorithms open sources.  People such as Elon Musk himself, and Donald Trump were banned form the platform for expressing their free speech right, which again is wrong and should not have happened. 

    The value of promoting tolerance is extremely important to me, because I believe through conversation you can expand upon and express your views, lear about opposing views, and accept others have different opinions than you without hating or canceling them. 

Online Privacy

     Listening to the TEDtalk about Online Privacy was very eye opening. It is scary that someone can find out everything about you without ever speaking to you. The man in the video is correct when saying people are often judged simply by whether or not they have tattoos. I never thought about the internet being an electronic tattoo until this video. Some refer to it as a digital footprint, where if theres a video you posted back in 2016 that you don't have access to anymore, someone else might still have access. Like the second video says, the government knows far too much about us, whereas years ago they didn't. This affects my family, friends, and I because it is a terrifying mind game to live in where things you may think are private, some random person in the government knows. The government is obviously invading our privacy, but there is nothing we as citizens can do about it. They should be protecting our information, but instead they dig into personal profiles and sometimes put identities at risk. That is why there was a privacy issue with TikTok. According to this article, "China does collect personal data on Americans and have been doing so for at least a decade, but there is no evidence that it has found a way to benefit from this. China takes advantage of the loophole created by the congressional failure to pass privacy legislation." There was a big enough privacy issue from another country, that the US took action and is now the majority owner of user privacy in the country. But, is this really a good thing? In hindsight you might think so, but if you take a closer look, now the government has even more control over us, and are actively censoring and changing TikTok guidelines for users across the country. To protect ourselves from this is difficult, but VPN's seem to be a great to way block outside users from viewing your data. This is a prominent and dangerous ongoing issue, and the American people need to continue to fight this fight.

 

My Top 5 News Sources

 In todays world, it is incredibly easy to access news on various different networking platforms. You have the freedom and capability to pick and chose where you get your news from. These are my top 5 news sources. 

1. Google

    Google has been and probably always will be my #1 news source. Whenever I hear crazy or exiting news, immediatly do a quick google search and see how many news outlets are reporting on an issue to verify whether or not its true. I like to use google because it is fast and sufficient. 

 2. TikTok 

    Among my generation, 15-30 second videos are what captures viewers attention. When scrolling on my TikTok feed, I am always learning information about what is going on in the world simply by what shows up on my algorithm. I enjoy following independent journalists on TikTok who make consice, unbiased videos about relevant topics in the world.

  3. Fox News

    One of the most popular conservative news networks is my third resource. I like to watch Jesse Watters, The Five, Sean Hannity, and numerous other shows on the Fox News channel. When watching, I can get updates in real time, even before any other news platform can send out a notification. I have the Fox News app on my phone which sends me notifications of the top headlines for each day, which keeps me well informed. 

4. X

    
    I am a newer user to X, but I like how the algorithm is tailored to me and things that I enjoy getting coverage on. I am able to see a wide variety of creators, and news channels provide her takes on each topic, and I am able to see multiple perspectives on different issue which is important for me.

5. Instagram

Last but not least, Instagram is another way I get my news. Typically, I will see someone who I follow upload a story and from there will head over to Google, or another platform to fact check what I just saw. Similiarly to X, I am able to follow several different news platforms which keeps me well informed throughout the day.