61,

'encouraged to kill themselves ', 'excruciating nightmare '

Hysterical much? That's comedy gold!

'McDonalds have been sued for promoting behaviour that is damaging to health. It is only a matter of time until parents get mad enough to launch class actions against promoters of products like these that are harming and even killing their kids. '

This attitude is the problem with the world. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS. A game, or an advert, or a movie is not responsible for your actions.

It seems these days, instead of teaching kids not to be vain, or that the media doesn't reflect reality, just allow them to be vain and tell them it's the media's fault and they should sue.

US,

AS withn the tobaccp industry one most semonstrate actual cause and effect to the satisfaction of the Law which can be a generation behinf connon sense. Like it or not the current 40-40s generation might live longer than their childern, inless medicine pulls a rabbit out of a hat.

McDonalds makes much of its money from real estate whih it buys-up before situating a store, in the knowledge it will attract other retails.

You should view the "Insider" on video?

One thing that might work, on a slightly differnt topic, is class action to stop public companies [Coles, wollworths etc] selling cigareets and tobacco products.

I’m inclined to agree with the author to some extent, but for complete bimbo crap and total anti-intellectualism, one has to look no further than the myriad of magazines currently being sold to young girls with articles such as: -

“The step by step guide to getting Rhianna’s hair.”

“This month we're giving away 10 tubes of Biotherm Matte Pur Fluid Foundation!”

“We talk to the star of Gossip Girl.”

“Sorry boys, these breasts are taken”

“Haven't lost your kirginity yet? You're not alone! Read this story about first kisses.”

“What does your beauty loot say about you?”

“What does your wardrobe say about you?”

Usual Suspect obviously feels that there is nothing funnier than watching a beautiful young woman starve herself to death, but that is what is happening in many families including that of a very dear friend. Anorexia is one of the most deadly forms of mental illness and young women are particularly susceptible. Usual is obviously ignorant as well as callous.

Usual Suspect, runner, TRTL

I understand your libertarian instincts and am very sympathetic to them in lots of situations, but not this one. Parental responsibility is all well and good, I believe in it too. But it's time to acknowledge that many parents for many different reasons are neglecting that responsibility. A lot of parents would have no idea their daughter was visiting such a site and even if they did would not necessarily have the skills to deter her from doing so.

There comes a point where the health and social costs to all of society have to be weighed up against the individual liberty to produce and access damaging rubbish like this. Anorexia and skin cancer, both the end result of behaviours encouraged in this game, are becoming an increasing drain on the public health system. We all pay for that. The cost of repairing the damage from leaking implants and plastic surgery gone wrong will no doubt increasingly be paid for from the public purse as well.

Who are the winners here? The producers and marketers. Who else? I feel it's well past time the rights of people like this to profit from the misery they are knowingly creating should be curtailed in the wider interest of society as a whole.

Usual Suspect

"I think children these days are much more media savvy than most adults give them credit for."

Not at the ages of 6 and 10 as mentioned by Melinda, or anything in between, or in many cases even when much older. You only have to see the way young girls idolize celebrity, and in particular bimbo types like Paris Hilton, to know that these girls at least are not at all media savvy. The ones that are will most likely be the ones whose parents are exercising their parental responsibility in this area. Many teachers do a great job in developing critical awareness, but their window of opportunity is small compared to the all-pervasive influence of corporate advertising and peer group pressure. Their best efforts will most likely fail if parents aren't doing their bit to foster a critical mindset as well.

"If you take guns away from little boys playing, they'll just use a stick, or their fingers."

Not if they haven't been pre-conditioned to believe that guns are desirable. My son never had guns to play with and I never saw him pretending to shoot, not to say he mightn't have at times in a larger group where the play was instigated by others. He has never shown interest in the defence forces or in violent video games. Shooting to kill just doesn't enter his world on any level. This to my mind is largely because he wasn't influenced in his formative and more susceptible earlier years to believe that guns are good. Nor was he ever allowed to become de-sensitised to the effects of violence as so many young boys these days are.

Shielding boys from guns is a walk in the park compared to the challenge of equipping girls to ignore the drumbeat message, which permeates all advertising and commercial media, that they have to be thin and sexy to be of value as a person.