Does tween culture exist anymore?

How tweendom dissipated into the mainstream.

It’s 2024, and Sophia is drinking iced matcha from her Stanley, scrolling Amazon on her iPhone for a viral tank top, and listening to a nostalgic Taylor Swift hit through her headphones. 

Quiz time! Is Sophia…

a) 12 years old

b) 19 years old

c) 26 years old

Don’t stress if you’re struggling to answer. Because, the truth is, each is equally probable. Once upon a time, hallmarks of tween girldom signified just that: middle school kids nearing their teenage years, wearing Justice T-shirts, watching Disney Channel, and playing Just Dance. 

But as Gen Z and Millennials get older it seems that, somehow, the tweens are growing up alongside them. On TikTok, spot anti-aging skincare routines from seventh graders, pricey athleisure hauls from 2019’s kindergarteners, and Olivia Rodrigo tour outfit recommendations from 14-year-olds (that your 24-year-old self would honestly wear). 

Hair bows, disposable cameras, Sol de Janeiro: That’s kid culture. Then again — hair bows, disposable cameras, Sol de Janeiro: young adult culture. Where did the tweens go? Some say they’ve disappeared. But if you zoom in, it’s not the case. 

Turns out, tween girl culture has just gone collective, cross-generational — mainstream. We are all tween girls now.

Cultural comparison: Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha

Younger generations have the most power over mainstream pop culture — Millennials and Gen Z have over 70% of the cultural influence on digital platforms, according to a 2021 Visual Capitalist report. And Gen Alpha? They’re just the newest seat at the table.

Gen Z may have been the first generation termed “digital natives,” but Gen Alpha puts that to shame: These kids, on average, have mastered touch screens before starting preschool and intuitively figured out iPhone facial recognition before multiplication. Factoring in the onset of artificial intelligence, they’ll pioneer a “a society where AI is not just a tool but a collaborator, co-creator, and confidant,” says Andrew Bolwell, Global Head of HP Tech Ventures. Add streaming and short-form content to the equation, and gone are the days of tuning in to whatever’s playing on Disney Channel.

Fading generational boundaries in mainstream media

Take something like Barbie, Marvel, or Taylor Swift. How is it that these emblems of our current pop culture can draw in both a four-year old and a 40-year old?

The digital transformation that we’ve seen as a society over the past few generations—the invention of the internet in the 80’s, streaming media in the 90’s, the iPhone in the late 2000’s, a social media boom in the 2010’s and so on—have dramatically shifted how we consume information and access entertainment. Nowadays, Millennials and the tweens of Gen Alpha can consume overlapping content and trends, adopting internet jargon like “negative aura” and “girl math,” which creates a mainstream culture with participants of a wide age range. 

Now, let’s look at tween-specific media—that transitional area of content where a five-year-old would have no interest in and a 15-year-old would think they’re too old for (basically, that weird in-between of Paw Patrol and Euphoria). While Millennials and Gen Z may point to iCarly or Hannah Montana as shows that defined their tweendom, traditional T.V. is losing its appeal among Gen Alpha. 

A recent Precise TV report tracked U.S. kids ages 2-12 on their entertainment consumption, finding that Gen Alpha’s most preferred content is YouTube, rather than SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) services like Netflix. Additionally, Gen Alpha’s TikTok usage increased by 44% in 2024, overshadowing traditional television. So, while there are semblances of tween-specific culture in shows like Netflix’s The Babysitter’s Club or Disney’s Coop and Camie, they simply aren’t having the same influence or prominence in the lives of tweens today. Because T.V. series have historically carried weight in age-specific cultural capital, its declining popularity among current youth means less rigid generational “boundaries” within the overall pop culture. 

Evolution of “influencing”

With the continued rise of social media and short-form content (TikToks, Instagram reels, Youtube shorts), “influencing” has taken on a new meaning. Your typical “influencer” wasn’t an occupation in the early 2000’s, but tweens and teens were always influenced by the content they consumed—it’s just broadened in the past few decades. 

In the 90’s and early 2000’s, we see the dominance of teen magazines and celebrities as main sources of influence—this would be your Tiger Beats, your Hillary Duffs.

As we move further along the 2000’s and into the 2010’s, Youtubers and influencers got added to the equation. From Bethany Mota to Emma Chamberlain, younger viewers took direct inspiration from individual creators.

Now, it seems like everyone could be an influencer. The whole concept of influencing has expanded to app users, including those as young as Gen Alpha, making GRWM (“get ready with me”) TikToks or promoting clothing on Instagram as brand ambassadors.

For example, influencer Evelyn Unruh (@evelyngrwmofficialk), who recently turned thirteen, has amassed over 415k followers on TikTok from posting GRWM videos (using makeup products from brands like Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe) with text headlines “Things That Annoy Me” or “Things I Don’t Understand,” often giving an inside scoop to her tweenage goings-on of middle school and friends. Since blowing up, she’s reviewed several PR packages from Anastasia Beverly Hills, American Eagle, and Saie. 

The mainstream became more mainstream, and everyone is in on it.

From both a brand and follower perspective, tweens like Evelyn are spokespeople for products and have just as much influential power as older content creators like Alix Earle (@alixearle) or Katie Fang (@katiefanggg). That’s right—in this day and age, a TikTok-famous tween could influence you into a new style just like the Hillary Duffs and Lindsay Lohans of the red carpet did in the 2000’s. According to a recent Statista report, 52% of Gen Z had purchased something advertised by an influencer they follow. People are influencing each other, and the algorithm doesn’t seem to care what generation you are. The mainstream became more mainstream, and everyone is in on it. 

Niches and subcultures

As mainstream culture expands, it leaves room for the niche to get more niche. When something becomes too broad, it fuels a longing (especially within younger audiences exploring their identities) to both stand out and fit in. This is where subcultures come in. 

Formulated based on factors like specific interests, fashion, music taste, and lifestyle, there seems to be a new subculture spawned from internet niches by the day. From Y2K, to Coastal Granddaughter, to Cottage-Core, social media can slap a trendy, quirky name on pretty much anything these days. 

Through the internet, people find inspiration and discover new identities through these hyper-specific aesthetics.

TikTok user @attempedsoc shares that assigning a certain connotation to an outfit (“Why do you feel the need to specify you wear camo in an Ethel Cain Americana way?”) is a social signal. Niche keywords like “Ethel Cain Americana” frame you into a niche persona that helps others perceive you in the context you want them to. It’s like, do you actually like those shoes or just the identity they represent?

Basically, it’s a way to stand out while still belonging to a larger yet specialized community. The decline of in-person social interactions accelerates the trend of seeking online spaces of commonality. So whether tweens and teens choose to identify with the “Clean Girl” aesthetic or “brat summer,” subcultures are serving as opportunities for identity exploration. Sure, many of these aesthetics are a little ridiculous (like, how do you even come up with Eclectic Grandma Core), but they offer a venue to claim your identity as a certain archetype of a cultural group. 

The tween consumer, explained

As tween pop culture has become less defined over the years, the same can be said for tween consumer culture which has become more collaborative and interactive among fellow shoppers. “The platforms they [Gen Alpha] have grown up using…have defined them as active co-creators rather than passive consumers,” shares McCrindle. From skincare product reviews to clothing hauls, tweens are taking a more prominent role in the mainstream market—evident from the “10-year-olds are taking over Sephora” headlines…

We don’t see as many mainstream brands specifically targeting tweens—it’s hard to compete with the constant stream of content from microtrends to influencers’ Amazon storefronts. So in this media landscape, brands need to be strategic about targeting today’s youth.

3 C’s to nailing down the youth market

• 1. Community

  Growing up at a time of rapid technological change, Gen Alpha needs to find sources for connection and commonality—and that translates into brands. Create communities centered around a message or subculture. Lean into that culture of niches, because that’s where tweens can connect on common identities or lifestyles. 

  Example: Lululemon. With their sleek and colorful athleisure, local ambassadors, and workout class offerings, they’re associated with a community of “clean girl” and “preppy”  (which, to Gen Alpha, often just means fun vibrant colors) aesthetics.ption text goes here

• 2. Connection

  Establish a personal connection with the individual consumer. Think beyond personalization, but how to personify the brand itself into an immersive experience allowing meaningful interaction with the audience. Traditional marketing campaigns are old news—this generation wants to be involved as proactive shoppers.

  Example: Rhode. Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand hosts a series of pop-up booths going “on tour” to cities like New York, Miami, LA, and London. It invites its customers, who are more of a fan base, into its brand universe to celebrate new makeup product launches.

• 3. Content

  Content drives consumption. No matter the platform, UGC (User-Generated Content) like hauls and EGC (Employee-Generated Content) like “day in the life working at…” videos wield lots of power over today’s consumers. Gen Z and Gen Alpha often turn to their peers for brand credibility, consulting product reviews and other forms of UGC. Getting the insider perspective of a company through EGC can also help humanize the brand. 

  Example: Kendra Scott. Beyond just featuring its jewelry on TikTok, their videos spotlight both its own customers (“come with me to get my birthday discount”) and employees (“me without my office bestie” or “when the content creator tries to create content of the social media director”). 

Gen Alpha is growing up on social media’s pervasive influence and the accelerating advancement of technology, factors that undoubtedly shape their youth experience (not to mention a global pandemic, of course). And while the youth experience has shifted across generations, it’s natural for any young tween or teen to want to be perceived as “more adult,” like mindlessly adding polypeptide creams and serums to their cart. 

But, that’s not to say tween culture is dead. Tweens of Gen Alpha are just more likely to be found in the same cultural spaces as older teens or adults, whether they’re engaging with viral TikToks or following influencer-driven trends. Rather than a culture with generational divisions, the cultural landscape as we know it today is one of collective participation. So to reach the youth of today, let’s understand all things that make Gen Alpha, Gen Alpha. 

Blog Post Title Four

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Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.