Caroline Zielinski
archillesTweens
January 7th 2009 05:37
Aaaah, the new generation of children who are not yet teenagers, but certainly act like them.
These 8- 12 year old boys and girls, heavily influenced by the media and popualr culture in general, are developing much faster than they should be. Girls especially are now interested in shopping, makeup, fashion and celebrities far more than they are in reading and playing with their Barbies, while boys no longer desire the company of the great outdoors, instead choosing to spend time playing one violent video game after another, learning how fight, swear and be aggressive from not only thse games, but Television and lack of proper sleep.
One thing I've both noticed and read about is that the defining characteristic of most tweens' lives are brands and logos. From about 18 months, babies can recognise logos, and by the ages of 2, they are able to ask for and after specific brands. Then, by the age of 6 or 7, little girls are already following the likes of Paris Hilton and her minions, asking for the latest and flashiest fashions, coveting g-strings, skinny leg jeans and high heels.
Just today, I saw two girls, about 11, sitting down in my local shopping centre's food court, dressed up to the nines and eating, all 'grown up like', their very own purchase of KFC. Both wearing tight black leggings, tight, long singlet tops, (one purple, one yellow), belted at the waist, with a 3/4 cardie, I realised just how true all the studies about tweens actually are. They had little imitation Guess handbags and wallets, were flashing their $5 notes as if they were 100s, and tried to elegantly position themselves on the plastic red chairs while watching teenage boys with pierced lips and noses slouch around in groups of 10. I couldn't stop laughing.
Admitedly, having read about girls more than boys, as well as being a girl myself, I have a greater knowledge of what tween girls are feeling and doing. But it's spo sad to realise that little 9 year olds are worrying about being too fat, about eating chocolate and going out in public without dressing up. This commercialisation of childhood via branding and constant emphasis on money and the superficial is infiltrating those who are most innocent, and turning them into mini versions of many miserable and depressed people who feel that they need money to obtain happiness.
And as for role models? For tweens, there is no such thing as Jane Austen or Bill Gates; there are no interests in much aside from celebrities and their diets, clothes and hairstyles, or the sports stars every young boy wishes to imitate. It seems that life for our little generation Z is becoming one ego- centric, technologically advanced and commercially enhanced bubble of superficiality and conformity, and while its best to let the kids make their own mistakes, sometimes, a little interference into the world of realism is a good idea.
These 8- 12 year old boys and girls, heavily influenced by the media and popualr culture in general, are developing much faster than they should be. Girls especially are now interested in shopping, makeup, fashion and celebrities far more than they are in reading and playing with their Barbies, while boys no longer desire the company of the great outdoors, instead choosing to spend time playing one violent video game after another, learning how fight, swear and be aggressive from not only thse games, but Television and lack of proper sleep.
One thing I've both noticed and read about is that the defining characteristic of most tweens' lives are brands and logos. From about 18 months, babies can recognise logos, and by the ages of 2, they are able to ask for and after specific brands. Then, by the age of 6 or 7, little girls are already following the likes of Paris Hilton and her minions, asking for the latest and flashiest fashions, coveting g-strings, skinny leg jeans and high heels.
Just today, I saw two girls, about 11, sitting down in my local shopping centre's food court, dressed up to the nines and eating, all 'grown up like', their very own purchase of KFC. Both wearing tight black leggings, tight, long singlet tops, (one purple, one yellow), belted at the waist, with a 3/4 cardie, I realised just how true all the studies about tweens actually are. They had little imitation Guess handbags and wallets, were flashing their $5 notes as if they were 100s, and tried to elegantly position themselves on the plastic red chairs while watching teenage boys with pierced lips and noses slouch around in groups of 10. I couldn't stop laughing.
Admitedly, having read about girls more than boys, as well as being a girl myself, I have a greater knowledge of what tween girls are feeling and doing. But it's spo sad to realise that little 9 year olds are worrying about being too fat, about eating chocolate and going out in public without dressing up. This commercialisation of childhood via branding and constant emphasis on money and the superficial is infiltrating those who are most innocent, and turning them into mini versions of many miserable and depressed people who feel that they need money to obtain happiness.
And as for role models? For tweens, there is no such thing as Jane Austen or Bill Gates; there are no interests in much aside from celebrities and their diets, clothes and hairstyles, or the sports stars every young boy wishes to imitate. It seems that life for our little generation Z is becoming one ego- centric, technologically advanced and commercially enhanced bubble of superficiality and conformity, and while its best to let the kids make their own mistakes, sometimes, a little interference into the world of realism is a good idea.
| 55 |
| Vote |
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
That's just it. Everything about it is fake - not just the bags. Somehow, I don't think you could call that development. That doesn't happen till they all get out into the real world!
Comment by Caroline Zielinski
Pop Culturer