1. In your judgment, are violent and sexually explicit videos harmful to children?
2. Ethics expert Chris MacDonald said that the video game industry should not be proud of selling “gory games” to kids. He has argued that video games are “fertile terrain for industry self- regulation. . . .” “Such a move toward social responsibility might go some distance toward proving that the video game industry is worthy of the constitutional protections it enjoys.”
a. In your judgment, has the video game industry breached its social responsibility to American consumers? Explain.
b. Would an ethical, socially responsible video store owner decline to sell violent or sexually explicit videos if evidence revealed that those videos often reach children? Explain.
3. a. Will the free market and industry ethics satisfactorily protect society from any harm that may emerge from video game playing or is legal intervention necessary? Explain.
b. Should the First Amendment protect video games from government oversight? Explain. 4. a. Do we need to protect children from video games, whether violent or not? Explain.
b. If so, would government intervention be the most effective way of offering that protection? Explain.
5. Daniel Akst asks, “Part of the fun of video games is the chance to inhabit an exciting fictional world. So do people who play these games feel free to behave immorally toward the characters on screen?” Answer Akst’s question.
Americans were shocked and searching for answers when Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 20 children, six Sandy Hook Elementary School staff members, his mother, and himself in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. One of the initial areas of concern was the video game industry. Lanza reportedly was “enthralled” by violent video games, including one called School Shooting, although the state’s official investigation of the shooting was unable to establish a motive for his behavior.