We all remember those awkward tween years right?
You know the ones filled with acne, wishing for that growth spurt (that never happened) and being shy around your first crush.
You did not have to worry about a job, college or thinking about what you want to be when you grow up.
Only things you had to worry about were getting your homework done and waiting for the new episode of “Hannah Montana.”
But that was then and this is now. A lot has changed since I was 9 or 12. I started noticing this change during Christmas break when I was stuck at home and needing to pass the time I started scrolling endlessly on TikTok.
Every other video was women about my age or a bit older talking about their experiences recently in Sephora and Ulta. Specifically about the recent influx of middle school age girls in these stores buying (usually expensive) skincare and makeup brands like Drunk Elephant, Sol de Janeiro and Rare Beauty just to name a few.
The discourse in these videos always comes back around to the same topics: should children be allowed in Sephora and Ulta, why are children using anti-aging skincare and the rude behavior of the children in these stores.
While watching I started to think back to my tween years and what my interests were.
What tweens are interested in now than they were interested a decade ago are different.
Growing up I loved playing with makeup and asking my mom about all the different products that were in her makeup bag.
I can vividly remember owning this “High School Musical” eyeshadow pallet and putting it on my eyes whenever I had the chance.
One of my favorite gifts was this makeup kit that was filled with lipsticks, blushes and eyeshadows. This kit came in handy during dance recitals.
Social media has grown in the past few years with TikTok exploding in popularity and influence. TikTok is being absorbed in the same way that YouTube and Instagram are. People my age remember the heyday of beauty YouTube (about 2016-2018) with beauty influencers like Jeffree Star and James Charles being popular channels doing makeup reviews.
Let’s go back to why children are using anti-aging skincare. A question that has been raised is what is compelling primarily middle school age children to use products that are made for older skin.
It can be traced back to TikTok and the beauty influencers recommending these products to their adult audience. The younger audience is taking advice that was meant for adults.
In the past couple years stores and entertainment that are geared towards tweens have become almost non existent. Staples of my childhood and tween years like The Children’s Place and the pink explosion that was Justice have either closed down or moved exclusively online.
A place like Justice is where I started to find my own style of clothing. Which has gone through an evolution from the sparkly pink shirts and skirts of Justice to the My Chemical Romance shirts and skinny black jeans of Hot Topic.
Now I would say my style is somewhere in the middle. I wear brightly patterned sweaters while listening to MCR.
The younger generation will always want to grow up fast even if we, the semi-older generation, tell them to cherish this time in their life.
I think we give them the advice to have fun in the moment because we learned from our mistakes of wanting to grow up fast.
The awkward phase is a rite of passage for everyone.