As a child, many yearn to grow up. As an adult, they wish they kept their childhood.
Nowadays, it is common that teenagers seem much more adult-like than the teens of past generations.
This is evident in the way they dress, the makeup they wear, and their obsession with anti-aging skincare.
In the early 2000’s, a teenage girl could be characterized by a flip phone, an orange spray tan, and a closet full of Abercrombie & Fitch. Through the lenses of these now grown adults, the new generation of teens are viewed as much more “mature” than what they had experienced.
For a teen nowadays, a low cut top could be the standard, and tiny shorts is the norm. A full face of makeup is common, and it is now often hard to tell a teenager apart from a young adult.
One major cause of this seeming maturity is rooted to social media and teen presence online.
According to Pew Research Center, 63% of teens use TikTok, 61% use Instagram, and 55% use Snapchat.
With the internet being much more accessible to everyone in this generation, it seems teenagers know a lot more than they should.
Constant access to the internet leads to many teenagers modeling themselves after older influencers they idolize. Young teens who follow in their favorite influencer’s footsteps often forget that they are not the same age, or that their entire page could simply be a fake internet persona.
With the rise of filters in social media, it is often overlooked that the faces seen online have been meticulously edited and airbrushed.
To a teenager, these seemingly “perfect” faces bring about a need to look the same way.
Makeup is often worn to appear more mature and to cover up “imperfections.” Skincare is applied to clear skin, and to prevent aging that has yet to even begin.
The skincare products used by teens weren’t actually designed for their skin. But, products containing things like retinol are often incorporated into a teen’s skincare routine. Retinol is a vitamin used to reduce aging and acne. Although it is effective, it causes much sensitivity in a teen’s thinner skin.
This obsession with anti-aging has been amplified these recent years. Often seeing influencers promote anti-aging products, and constantly getting botox, it is understandable that teens are trying to prevent aging that will not yet be an issue for a long while.
Peer pressure also plays in teens’ lives.
How teens see their friends dress and behave are often rooted in their own personalities and appearances. What might appear appalling to the adults of this world, could simply be the social norm forced upon a teen.
Body image is equally as important in guys as in girls.
While social media creates a standard to maintain a slim figure for teenage girls, guys also feel pressure to fit in with the standards. Working out in the gym, bench pressing at least 120 pounds and maintaining a fit body are all standards they have to live up to.
Between the widespread usage of social media, the increase of peer pressure amongst classmates and the many standards that teens are forced to live up too, growing up too fast feels less like a phenomenon and more like a reality.
So perhaps it is not that we are growing up too fast, but that the world we live in simply has.