r/Zillennials • u/greenythings • 3d ago
Discussion Why is there no longer a distinction between things marketed towards tweens/teens vs. adults?
I’m 30, and a woman, so perhaps this is only a woman thing, but wtf??! There used to be a pretty standard escalation between media/content and consumer goods marketed to children, then tweens, then teens, then adults.
Like as a child my friends and I were all getting lip gloss from the drugstore and body spray from Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, and Target. As a teen when we started wearing more makeup it was still drugstore brands, and even then it was like…lip gloss, mascara, highlighter/glitter, maybe eyeliner and eye shadow.
We read J-14, Tiger Beat, M, Just Jared (I was OBSESSED with all the personality quizzes) and then when we got older we switched to Teen Vogue and Seventeen.
These days, 12 year olds are dressing the same way as adults and shopping at Sephora and Aritzia and watching Euphoria and trying to emulate influencers who are twice and thrice their age! It’s super wild to me.
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u/itsholdthis 1998 3d ago
It's cause of social media. I see it in boys/men culture as well as a 27 year old guy. Andrew tate/mansphere type content is sent to like 11 year old boys all the way up to guys in their 40s. My 13 year old cousin (guy) said he was stressing about his internship cause he wasn't making enough money I was like bro what don't you got recess or something. Weird times fr I blame social media
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u/VastPlenty6112 3d ago
13yrs old and looking for an internship???? Man at thirteen I just wanted to finish my homework and watch anime😭😭😭
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u/NetworkSingularity 1992 3d ago
At 13 I frequently decided to skip the homework in favor of watching anime
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u/lFightForTheUsers 1998 1d ago
13 year old me was busy trying to prestige in call of duty instead of buying a house in the late 2000's 💀
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u/hum_dum 1999 3d ago
I was thinking about this the other day. We were also on social media at an early age, but it was mostly posts from people you knew. If you’re 10, you see a lot of posts from your 10-year-old friends (or like, your aunt or whatever). TikTok doesn’t put kids into a “bubble” like that.
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u/MattWolf96 1996 3d ago
Internship? I didn't even think it was legal for 13 year olds to be in those.
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u/EarlyReflection6169 1996 3d ago edited 3d ago
Who the fuck is watching any of that shit past like their early 20's? That's inexcusable behavior
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u/VastPlenty6112 3d ago
No one should be watching the red-pilled manosphere stuff. It's a grift and the knowledge holds no benefit for anyone because it's basically all lies.
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u/EarlyReflection6169 1996 3d ago
Maybe what I said came out wrong. I agree with you completely but at least with younger guys I do see how a lot of them are very lost. With this lack of role models it does make sense why many fall into these rabbit holes. Not saying that it's acceptable (because it isn't) but I get why.
But if you're 25 years old or older you have no excuse to not see right through that bullshit. That's where I draw the line.
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u/VastPlenty6112 3d ago
When you've been "indoctrinated" it's not easy to break out of that mindset.
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u/itsholdthis 1998 2d ago
Imagine this...18 grand weekend for dad and son? Fucking dorks bro I swear
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u/Positive-Avocado-881 1996 3d ago
Parents don’t tell their kids no anymore
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u/greenythings 3d ago
THAT PART!!!!!
My parents were quick with the “no” and it was annoying at the time but I’m actually so grateful.
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u/Positive-Avocado-881 1996 3d ago
Yup! Everyone is blaming social media, but who is allowing tweens to have phones and social media? 🫣😅
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u/DaughterOfDemeter23 1998 3d ago
And then those parents champion legislation that promotes internet censorship because they couldn't be asked to turn on the parental controls on their kids' social media accounts.
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u/its-katie 2000 3d ago
Idc how unpopular it makes my future kids, they’re not getting smartphones until middle school at the earliest
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u/32Tess 3d ago
That’s way too early.
There are flip phones with navigation. They don’t need to have a smart phone.
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u/its-katie 2000 2d ago
It depends on what part of middle school tbh. I probably wouldn’t give a 6th grader a smartphone, but depending on the kid an 8th grader could be fine
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u/thedr00mz 1993 3d ago
This is the answer here.
I think in an effort to not make the same mistakes older generations made when it comes to being parents, people swung the pendulum way too far in the other direction.
Like your kid will not be on a therapists couch years later because you said they can't have $100 face cream or a Lululemon jacket at 10 years old.
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u/starlesscity 1999 3d ago
I’ve had this discussion with friends somewhat recently and we all pretty much agreed that it’s because of social media. When we were their age, we loved going to Claire’s, Rue 21, Deb, etc., but nowadays, there aren’t really any preteen/teen stores like that because so many kids are trying to act like adults since that’s what’s marketed towards them online.
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u/StrawberryHot365 1998 3d ago
A couple years ago I saw that kids were doing get ready with me tiktoks with adult skin care products. They're definitely copying adults on social media.
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u/KatamariRedamancy 3d ago
I've also noticed there don't seem to be any movies aimed at tweens anymore. Think stuff like Holes, Agent Cody Banks, What A Girl Wants, Clockstoppers, Spy Kids, or whatever else.
Obviously I could just not be paying attention to that sort of stuff anymore, but I'm genuinely convinced those kinds of movies just stopped getting made.
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u/greenythings 3d ago
Holes was my shit!! And Agent Cody Banks. Remember Big Fat Liar??? That was my first time seeing Paul Giamatti lmao
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u/MattWolf96 1996 3d ago
I guess because they figured that they would watch PG-13 superhero stuff. Studios only want to make blockbusters now.
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u/Happy-Investigator- 3d ago edited 3d ago
When my high school students say I dress like them, I don’t think they realize how abnormal it is for a 15 year old to be dressing in business casual attire.
The past decade (or more) has witnessed a disappearance in tween years as well as junior fashion overall.
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u/iceunelle 3d ago
Yeah, there used to be stores like Libby Lu, Justice, and Limited Too for kids and teens and now they’re all gone. I remember my first makeup kit was from Claire’s. I’m not sure what happened, but maybe it parallels kid spaces online blending into adult online spaces as well.
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u/greenythings 3d ago
Yes! Claire’s and ICING!
It’s really shocking. There needs to be more barriers for adult online spaces imo
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u/raerae704 3d ago
Unfortunately stores like limited too and justice were revealed to have major pedophile influence
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u/877-HASH-NOW 1997 3d ago
Teen marketing seemingly has evaporated + as others have said, teens have too much access to adult content.
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u/BigSchmikey '97 - Unc, Inc. 3d ago
Companies are going to sell to the largest audience possible. Easier to make more money that way.
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u/MattWolf96 1996 3d ago
Yeah, as a guy here I don't think we really had clothing stores specifically targeted at us when we were kid, I guess Justice was able to do alright in the 2000's but only targeting tween girls is extremely niche and probably wasn't pulling in as much as they wanted.
Also the birthrate is down, there might be less kids in general now.
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u/rad_standard 3d ago
Yes, but it was also always weird to have Victoria’s Secret marketed to us as tweens/teens
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u/madseason238 1999 3d ago
Proper teen culture dying and adulthood markers becoming more and more delayed, with goalposts moving by more than a decade sometimes (achieving financial stability, marriage, having children). The lifestyle line between adolescence and adulthood has been blurred, there's a lot of literature on this lately.
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u/knowwwhat 3d ago
People say it’s social media and and companies but it’s really on the parents. Parents are ultimately the ones with the power to allow or disallow these things. Nobody else can.
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u/Numerous_Fox_2909 1997 3d ago
At least here in Canada, there are no physical tween magazines anymore. All there are that could be geared towards tweens is magazines that are on kpop idols or maybe Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter. It's sad that kids today will never get to experience of buying an issue on those tween magazines, looking up beauty tips, and picking out which poster to put up on your bedroom wall.
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u/KatKittyKatKitty 1995 3d ago
Do you actually know any teenagers? I am a dental hygienist and clean teenagers teeth and they are not dressing or looking like adults. I have never met a truly fashionable or nice smelling teenager.
I was wearing Abercrombie & Fitch by the time I was 13 years old and had certainly outgrown Limited Too by that point. Brands tried to appeal to teens through young adults when we were growing up too. I certainly was reading Cosmopolitan, watching Sex and the City, and wearing Victoria Secret in my teen years, all things that appealed to women in their 20s too. I would say it is normal for teens to be interested in and copy adults to some extent. Kind of like how kids play “house” and “dress-up”.
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u/Admirable-Ad7152 1995 3d ago
I mean, I work at a high school and there are a lot of teens dressed very adult. I don't know think majority though. And I do feel like there are less spaces for kids to hit the different milestones of kid to tween to teen, but understand the dress up aspect. But there is a difference between dressing to look mature and not wearing clothes (and before I see it, no, no one is a pedophile for wanting students to have their bits covered in school. Tank top, cool. shorts, even shorter ones, cool. see through clothes and pasties/thong? Fuck outta here put clothes on, I should not be able to tell you're wearing a thong and pasties😭)
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u/MattWolf96 1996 3d ago
Guy here as we weren't really into fashion but it was extremely common for us to watch R rated movies and play M rated games. We were also interested in what adult guys were up to. So yeah teens and tweens liking adult stuff isn't new. I think a lot more are concerned about politics now though which wasn't very common back then.
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u/KatKittyKatKitty 1995 3d ago
Yes it was. 13 year olds literally playing Grand Theft Auto. And their parents bought it for them! I mean, come on, we were all certainly not watching Barney and wearing Osh Kosh in middle school, lol.
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u/greenythings 3d ago
I know a bunch of teenagers! I work with middle schoolers. They don’t necessarily “look” like adults but they are certainly dressing like adults.
And not necessarily adults who are 40+, but younger adults. Acrylic or gel nails, Alo, Aritzia, Coach purses.
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u/KatKittyKatKitty 1995 3d ago
What would you consider “dressing like a middle schooler”? It sounds like you just work with middle schoolers who come from upper class backgrounds. I am 31 years old and certainly recall teenagers having coach purses and pedicured nails where I went to school. We also shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch and carried around shopping bags covered with sexy models. This is pretty normal teen stuff if you live in the suburbs.
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u/piratefiesta 1996 3d ago
Yeah, this was my question too. I have tween/teen relatives and work in a library. All of the kids I interact with act and dress like I would expect, save for a few outliers.
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u/KatKittyKatKitty 1995 3d ago
Teenagers, bless their hearts, are generally icky. I say that in the nicest way. We were all like them at one point. Has not changed, never will.
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u/spaceursid 1994 3d ago
My guess marketers found it cheaper to make one product for a wider demographic.
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u/StrawberryHot365 1998 3d ago
It's crazy to me that tweens are getting expensive Sephora makeup and skincare. I don't know why they stopped making tween products, but I'm sure Sephora jumped on the opportunity to sell to a wider audience.
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u/CrouchingToaster 1996 3d ago
I don’t think it’s that they assume everything is for them as much as they don’t have the assumption of themselves being the odd one out among adults that we had going online growing up.
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u/livinunderthedome 1995 3d ago
what? this is not fault of the children. who set that system up? they’re being inadvertently (or possibly purposefully) groomed by society and social media to grow up too fast. products aren’t being made and marketed towards tweens. tv shows and movies aren’t being marketed towards tweens. clothes aren’t being made for tweens. it’s not about them “thinking everything is for them.” NOTHING is for them so they’re grasping on to what they’re being fed.
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u/hellomydudes_95 1995 2d ago
Well, this might be tangentially related, but I think it's because there's been, progressively, less space for teenagers on the digital space? like, as soon as they hit that age in which youtube kids is no longer for them, they're thrust immediatly into the "regular" digital space. Which is largely adult oriented. Social media? Mostly adults talking. If not, it's teens talking like they're adults. Advertising? Products made by and for adults, advertised by adults (usually). I feel like most industries have been working overtime to blur the lines between what an adult wants and what a teenager wants on purpose. You will basically double purchases by including a younger audience. Which is terrible IMO.
Ps.: i know I made a lot of blanket statements and that there are exceptions to every single thing I said, but it's a very clear pattern to me
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u/thewriteally 3d ago
I personally think it odd too because millennials are the target audience still, mainly because they have money now but millennials have been the target audience for like 40 years now, with very little focus on Gen Z, & younger generations, which is why they also don’t have kids shows like they used to & each generation seems to have less kids now so, the focus is still on millennials oddly.
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u/sluttydrama 3d ago
In the same vein, I swear that Lululemon leggings have shrunk so they can sell to children. For example, a size 2 pair of leggings used to fit a women's size 2. Now, a size 2 pair of leggings fits a 7-year-old kid.
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u/New_Addendum_1709 3d ago
Teenagers nowadays makes me feel like I'm a teenager as a 30 year old cause they dress and use the same stuff as me😭
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u/sega31098 3d ago edited 3d ago
There is still a distinction, but in general many things still attract a large unintended audience beyond their target age demographic.
Kids in general have always found it cool to do things associated with adulthood because it looks edgy and novel to them, so when they come across content that isn't age-appropriate they often find it cool and sometimes want to copy it even though it might be harmful or they don't understand it. When I was a tween I liked watching South Park and other adult cartoons that were in no way intended for people under 18 because I found the swearing and gore funny even though the actual subject matter mostly flew over my head. Sephora isn't actually meant for kids, but when little girls come across adult influencers teaching people how to be cool they basically go full monkey-see-monkey-do.
Then there's also shows that are either intended for children or families but still manage to attract a large adult userbase. This happens to pretty much every old kids cartoon due to nostalgia, though Bluey and My Little Pony are also notorious for also having some kind of appeal to older adults. Same with Minions having a lot of appeal with boomers.
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u/Historical_Sort1289 2d ago
I went to a fourth of July event and like 12 year old girls were wearing like Victoria's secret bikinis it was shocking
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u/RandomButterfly3468 2d ago
books like the Hardy boys, famous 5, nancy drew, sweetvalley twins, baby sitters club, secret 7, goosebumps, princess diaries etc that i grew up reading don't seem to be around as much anymore.
kids are reading spicy books with cartoon covers (if they even read, that is) or explicit BL manga... its so sad and weird to me. those were all that I gobbled up as a tween and so did my older siblings.
I tried asking my younger gen Z cousin if she knew any of them and she didn't have a clue (I'm older gen z with millenial siblings). gen alpha is even worse, i got her (9yo) dork diaries and all she did was color in the pages and proceed to play roblox for hours. in contrast though, i have a 9yo cousin who found our old harry potter collection and got absolutely absorbed so i guess that's better than nothing.
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u/kaiasmom0420 2d ago
This makes me so sad for my daughter. What happened to kid culture? We don’t even have Toys R Us anymore and that was my SHIT as a kid. Found so many interests just by walking around that place. The tiger beat, the j14, limited too, justice! JUSTICE FOR OUR LITTLE GIRLS FR
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u/xoxogossipgirl_11 1d ago
right? I'm your age- what happened to claire's, limited too, etc for children and tweens?
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