What Happened to Preteens?
According to Ohio University’s student newspaper, The Post, recently more preteens have been trying to act older, to the point that it negatively impacts them. But haven’t younger kids always wanted to be older? So why is it becoming a larger issue now?
Preteens have often looked up to teenagers, but lately it seems preteens want to, and are, completely skipping the preteen stage. Prissy Lee ’26 thinks many kids, especially nowadays, want to be grown-ups or act like them to seem cool. Edie Coye ’27 believes that “there used to be a longer period of just young adolescence.” There was more of a transition period for preteens to act their age. Lee and Millie Haberman ’27 agree that more preteens today are trying to skip straight to being a teenager, and Lee expressed the change she has seen since she was a preteen: “Looking at the younger kids now, all they do is makeup and TikTok, while [when] I was that age, I was watching Barbie [the TV show].”
There are many pressures causing kids to act older, but social media is one of the most influential. Coye says that social media creates a lot of the peer pressure that pushes kids to act older earlier. Coye also mentioned that on social media, “you get to see what other people are doing, maybe of similar age.” Students feel that always acting significantly older is harmful to development. Haberman agrees, saying that older behaviors “negatively impact your image and also change who you are.” You can lose who you are in trying to be like others, and this is especially dangerous at such a young age.
Respondents believe there is a lack of age-appropriate content, representation, and places to hang out for preteens. Haberman thinks that we need to create more spaces directed at preteens. Coye agrees, saying preteens need more “spaces like Claire’s, but maybe more modern,” to hang out in. Haberman also thinks there should be more accurate “examples of preteens in the media,” ones that would be good and safe role models for preteens. Coye points out that this misrepresentation keeps preteens from comfortably acting their age and being free from self-criticism.
All of this can be scary, and it could be causing a change in older teens. Coye says she is already seeing older teens going back and reminiscing about childhood or taking up childlike hobbies. This could be because they feel like they missed out on childhood or never got to be a kid. So, the preteen stage is disappearing, and it’s having a negative impact on many. But there are things we can do to help, like having more accurate representations of preteens in the media, creating spaces directed at preteens, and not looking down on preteens who act their age.