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by nickolai 4900 days ago
>It feels odd to me that people can be so sure that games have no influence yet images of thin women in magazines has such a strong influence.

There is clearly an invitation to mimic the presented behaviour in both cases, however whether or not people follow up on this is another issue - mainly shaped by social norms. Being thin is socially acceptable and encouraged(whether or not it is a good thing is irrelevant). Killing people - isn't.

Also the action presented has to be related to the context it is presented in. An ad shows thin people in everyday life - so kids try to imitate by starving themselves in everyday life. Wargames present murder in context of a military conflict - well since we are NOT in the middle of a military conflict, there is no point imitating.