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A recent article on tween culture in USA Today struck up a familiar debate over the acceleration of adolescence and whether it was something parents should be worried about. In theory I can understand how an eagerness to enter the teen culture could be interpreted by parents as a willingness to experiment with riskier teen-type activities that’s not necessarily the case with “tween culture.” Although tweens certainly don’t want to be singled out (Anastasia has mentioned this before in reference to social networks), they are still a distinct psychographic.

By recognizing those distinctions and integrating them into tween media and fashion, we allow tweens to imitate teen culture (and perhaps romanticize it with shows that take place in high school like Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101″ and Disney’s “Hannah Montana”), but still maintain the distance between stages. The fleshing out of tween identity and the development of tween trends could be seen as more of a preventative measure than a risk. While it may be difficult to see a child identify as older, whether because of marketing, technology or societal factors, growing up faster has become a reality.

Anastasia added that while some some of what’s being created for tweens may or may not be cool — i.e. $100 sneakers, not cool for parents in tight times — there are plenty of tween specific sites, virtual worlds and television programming that emphasize self esteem, pro-social activism and good clean fun that are better than tweens growing up faster by jumping into edgier teen culture. What do Ypulse readers think? Leave your thoughts in comments.

For more coverage of the tween space, check out the Ypulse Tweens Channel, sponsored by the Tween Tribune.

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Categorized under: Tweens

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