Fast fashion, consumerism, mental health concerns, social media issues — these are terms we hear all the time and we sometimes become so desensitized to hearing them we forget that they have real consequences. An effect of these issues that’s becoming increasingly more important is the narrowing gap between elementary-age girls and teenage girls. 

The rise of social media influence has cultivated a culture that runs on consumers buying the next best thing and marketing companies branding products to be for a wider and wider range of people, specifically girls. 

According to a Forbes article published in 2022, “In fact, women control 85% of all consumer purchases.”

Women are in control of our consumerism economy and this trickles down to younger and younger generations of girls being pressured and made to feel like they haveto buy products. 

Our high levels of consumerism are not the only culprits of this issue within our culture. Social media is constantly dictating our thoughts and feelings about the products we are seeing and in return purchasing. 

Due to the extreme availability of internet access, the younger generation is becoming more exposed to brands and influencers trying to sell to adult consumers rather than seeing products that are actually targeted at them. 

The popular chain store “Justice” had stores all over the country with clothing items and accessories targeted at tween girls from the ages of six to twelve. They were at their peak during the late 1990s and early 2000s but due to bankruptcy in 2020, they are now exclusively online or sold in certain Walmart stores.

There has been a shift in how major companies and stores market towards girls, and social media only cultivates this issue further.  

Young girls specifically are growing up faster, latching on to multi-step skincare routines, makeup products that hide wrinkles, or it-girl clothing items that go out of style within six months because of the ever-shifting trends and the unrealistic standards set on girls within our society’s culture that is so heavily based on appearance. 

It is simply becoming uncool to be little and young girls are feeling the pressure to dress, act and look older sooner causing stores like Justice to not provide enough. 

The term for this phenomenon is “kids getting older, younger” and it’s directly linked to consumerism and how social media has increased its effects. 

“Social media facilitates product discovery by exposing users to new products through targeted ads, influencer endorsements, and organic posts,” Keyhole said in a 2024 article.

This never-ending-cycle of consumers who look online at social media for their next purchase being younger and younger people, causes ads and furthering targeting enhancements to then create more “must have products.” 

The rise of online influencers has also dictated how consumers shop and where they place importance on material items. 

Younger girls who are easily impressionable and highly motivated to want what is on trend tend to want more and more of what they see influencers push out to their cultivated audiences. 

The constant flow of consumerism highlighted through social media will only increase as our usage and technology become more common and more advanced. The younger generation will get older and will lose precious moments in their childhood.