The death of the tweenager

We have the 90s to thank for the birth of the ‘tweenager’: pop bands like S Club 7 and B•witched were targeted exclusively at this age group of girls between nine and thirteen years old. Magazines like GirlTalk indulged in chatter about puppies and Mother’s Day crafts. Pre-teen girls were beginning to be considered as a commercial market but they were still very much separate from the older teenage demographic.

Two decades later, and that pre-teen phenomenon seems part of a bygone era. Young girls seem to be skipping the awkward pre-teen stage and swiftly trying to emulate the endless stream of older influencers they see online. In fact, pre-teen girls (or ‘tweens’) – those aged between nine and 12 – now seem to have the same style and interests as much older teenagers. ‘There’s no such thing as a pre-teen phase anymore,’ claimed a recent viral TikTok. In the video, a young girl explains that once pricey and in vogue pre-teen brands like Claire’s and Justice are now being sold at Walmart, as the tween demographic dies out and they struggle to stay relevant.

Last month, the Wall Street Journal warned