The existence and effects of dishonesty in modern society Honesty and integrity have long been emphasized as important moral principles and the harmful effects of dishonesty have been explored and emphasized widely in literature, media, religious texts, and culture in general. Although dishonesty is, on the whole, discouraged in modern society, an examination of various aspects of modern life shows that a lack of moral integrity plays a significant role in our society today. In “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything,” William Lutz explores the world of advertising media and the dishonesty and double-talk that result in a culture of sly words and lies of omission. In an ABC Primetime report, the author discusses the current rise in academic cheating in both high school and higher education and how this may relate to a larger shift in ethics and morals. In his article in The Telegraph, John Bingham talks about a decline in moral integrity which has been confirmed by a recent survey and study. Together, these three works highlight the dangerous effects that dishonesty and lack of integrity can have on the individual as well as on society and show specific examples of where these lapses in integrity can be identified in today's society. Collectively, the works support the thesis that a lack of moral integrity manifested through activities such as dishonest advertising and academic cheating can often have negative effects on the advancement of technology and consumer goods, as well as personal values; therefore, it is important to identify modern lapses in integrity where they exist in society in areas such as academia, advertising and personal life and address them by tightening advertising laws, administering strict honor codes in high schools, colleges and universities , and emphasizing moral integrity in the school curriculum. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn "With These Words I Can Sell You Anything," William Lutz describes an advertising world that manipulates consumers into purchasing products through dishonest use of doublespeak. A specific example that Lutz offers the reader is the flexible function of the word “help”; states that “Now 'help' just means to help or assist, nothing more. It does not mean conquer, stop, eliminate, end, resolve, heal, cure, or anything else. But once the ad says 'help,' it can say anything after that because 'help' qualifies everything that comes after” (Lutz 113). Here, Lutz provides one of many cases where advertisers use veiled truths to trick consumers into drawing conclusions that may not necessarily be true. Lutz argues that the use of these so-called "weasel words" is not uncommon but in fact extremely common in the world of marketing, and is now so ingrained in our society that it is virtually impossible to escape. Clearly, the use of dishonest advertising and ambiguous language can be seen to constitute a lack of honesty and integrity; if a company is able to sell a product simply because of golden language and lies of omission on its packaging, it is unquestionably dishonest to the consumer by misrepresenting the truth. Ultimately, this dishonesty affects citizens' personal lives, as well as the advancement of technology and consumer goods. If consumers can be easily influenced simply by the advertising phrase, there is no incentive for a company to producecompetitive and superior quality goods; instead, it would be easier and less expensive to focus on placing lower-quality products in a more positive light. One of the clearest examples of this phenomenon is in the cable Internet industry; Today's Internet companies are largely focused on advertising and determining how best to express the truth in their marketing campaigns and as a means of communication. As a result, innovation in this industry, especially in the United States, has undergone a tremendous slowdown. One solution to this problem of dishonesty in advertising is to implement legislation that states that companies must clearly state exactly what their product does without using opaque language or misinformation. In “A Cheating Crisis in America's Schools,” an ABC Primetime reporter outlines the modern rise in plagiarism and academic dishonesty. The article states that “Taking documents off the Internet is one of the new trends in plagiarism – and technology is giving students even more ways to cheat these days” (A Cheating Crisis). In saying this, the reporter echoes the results of a survey that found 74% of high school students admitted to cheating on an exam at least once in the year before being interviewed (A Cheating Crisis). This shocking statistic reveals exactly how significant the problem of academic dishonesty is in the American school system. However, the implications of this cheating go far beyond just high school. The same Primetime report features interviews with several college students and finds that many universities are plagued by plagiarism and academic integrity issues. This has significant negative repercussions in the field of academia; Since large volumes of research and study are conducted at universities, problems of fraud even at prestigious institutions such as Harvard and Stanford can lead to problems in the publication of scientific material and could tarnish the hard-to-maintain reputation for academic excellence that many of these universities work on. Beyond that, the immoral values ​​that students exhibit through academic integrity have repercussions even after graduation; this lack of integrity may manifest itself more severely in the workplace than in the isolated school environment. More generally, the problem of cheating and lying refers to the lack of moral integrity that is similarly exemplified in the advertising industry. Just as advertisers use false marketing words and misleading words to position their products as if they were better than they really are, students find it morally permissible to use the Internet and other tools to perform better on exams and tests and, in doing so , position themselves as smarter than they actually are. One possible solution to this problem is the establishment of a strict and universal honor code and harsher punishments for those who break this code in colleges and universities. Another important point made by Lutz in his essay alludes to the lack of information that advertisers often provide to consumers. , usually deliberately. At one point, Lutz argues that “The claim that a battery lasts 'up to twice as long' usually doesn't end the comparison: twice what? A birthday candle? A tank of gas?” (Lutz 118). While the statement cited by Lutz is technically true (a battery, in fact, lasts up to twice as long as a birthday candle), it pushes the consumer to make a natural comparison that may not necessarily be true through the use of a lie. of omission. Even though the statement may not applyactually to another battery, the natural assumption made by a consumer would be that it is, since it makes sense contextually; the advertiser only makes use of this natural, but imprecise judgment. As a result, the advertiser misinforms the consumer, regardless of whether the claim made is semantically correct or not. Yet phrases like “up to double the time,” “new and improved,” and “better than before” are ubiquitous in the consumer world, serving as an indicator of how entrenched dishonesty and the deliberate spread of misinformation are in our society. Furthermore, this offers a reason why students might find it morally acceptable to engage in academic cheating; if advertisers in the "real world" cheat all the time, why is it wrong for a student to do so on a test? This wing culture creation and cheating mentality is ultimately harmful not only to the consumer, but to the common citizen. However, one possible solution to this problem is to set judicial precedent through lawsuits challenging a company's ability to engage in deceptive advertising; By suing companies that have dishonest advertising campaigns, you can incentivize honesty in marketing and cultivate a change in the approach that companies take to marketing their products. about the current state of morality and how, in modern society, we find an increase in dishonesty. “Lying, adultery, drug-taking, speeding, drunk driving and handling stolen goods are all considered more acceptable than they were at the turn of the century,” he concludes (Bingham 1). In saying this, Bingham explicitly states findings that support the thesis that modern society has less moral integrity than in the past. This idea is further supported by the fact that today 50% of people believe that an extramarital affair is never justified; this is significantly lower than the 70% of people who believed this in 2000 (Bingham 2). Furthermore, a divide can be observed between the younger and the older; for example, only 33% of people under 25 think that lying on a job application is never justified, but among people over 65, 55% of people believe the same statement. This diminution of morals is further supported by Betty G. Farrell's essay “Family: Idea, Institution, and Controversy.” In the essay, Farrell cites statistics showing a steady increase in the number of divorces over the past few decades, which suggests that people are more likely to find divorce permissible and moral (Farrell 472). Together, these two sources support the conclusion that can be drawn from the use of double language in advertising and the rise of academic cheating and plagiarism: modern society displays a lack of moral integrity, and this decline in honesty and he integrity will only grow as we move forward into the 21st century. One way to address this decline in integrity might be to incorporate lessons about integrity and truthfulness into elementary school curricula; by teaching students the importance of being honest and having integrity at an impressionable age, we as a society can ensure that we do not spread a culture of cheating in order to succeed. Although the decline of moral integrity has been identified in areas such as Since in academia and advertising, defining a clear reason for this decline is much more difficult. A possible reason is suggested in the ABC Frontline article: “From [the students'] point of view, they are simply doing what the rest of the world does. "The real world isterrible," Joe told Gibson. “People will take other people's materials and pass them off as their own. I'm already numb to it. I'll cheat to get by'” (A Cheating Crisis). This excerpt raises a shocking point about the current state of moral integrity; the lapses in honesty that society displays today have led younger generations to perceive those same lapses in honesty as trivial and, if not morally correct, simply "how the world works." further degradation of moral values, which has manifested itself in the major cheating scandals that continue to plague high schools and institutions of higher education. This is directly linked to other cases of dishonesty that continue to occur in the world of advertising as well as in the world of higher education While academic integrity has not been resolved, students with integrity issues have brought these issues with them into the workplace under the impression that lies and deceptive business tactics are the norm and are permissible. As a result, dishonesty has manifested itself in the field of advertising. Ultimately, to combat the current decline in moral integrity, it is necessary to address the dishonesty that already exists in our society today by instituting harsher punishments for dishonesty in schools and creating a standardized set of academic integrity guidelines for all public schools that can be uniformly administered. the thesis is further supported by Bingham's article in The Telegraph. Towards the end of his article, Bingham writes: “When asked why young people are becoming increasingly dishonest, Prof Whiteley told BBC Breakfast: 'We think it's because their role models are not very good - footballers who cheat on their wives, journalists who hack people's phones" (Bingham 1). By saying this, Bingham implies that the lack of moral integrity in the media, culture, and society as a whole has resulted in an inevitable propagation of dishonesty in younger generations. This seems to be in line with statistics showing that older people tend to have more integrity and honesty than younger people. This idea is extremely important because it shows that young people, like students, do not adopt dishonest behaviors such as academic plagiarism simply because these people are inherently “bad.” Rather, it is modern society and culture that has instilled a cheating mindset to succeed in the minds of young people through negative role models and an ingrained culture. of dishonesty exemplified by aspects of society such as advertising. One solution to this problem of dishonesty is to ensure that positive and empowering role models are brought to the forefront of culture and media. To do this, news companies like Time and ABC should have an annual or biannual column on the best role models in the media or a periodic critique of the worst role models. This would encourage those who have a large public presence to be more moral. Each of the pieces cited offers a different point of view on the question of the devolution of moral integrity and values. While Lutz's essay focuses on double-talk in the fields of advertising and consumerism, the Frontline report focuses on cheating in schools and the Telegraph article focuses on measuring changes in moral integrity over time. However, each piece reaches the same final conclusion: there is an unavoidable abundance of dishonesty in our society today. The academic dishonesty that exists in schools is the direct result, as well as a catalyst, of nature.