New Kids on the Block

By (amended By )

Have you heard of the term ‘tweenager’? It’s a slang word used in the UK to describe children between about ten and twelve years old. They are between being a junior and a teenager, you see. Why do the press and media refer to kids in this way?

Well, more and more companies now create products and services for tweenagers. The Disney company sold the hugely successfulHannah Montanatelevision show along with its music,fi lm and merchandise to tweenagers and their parents. You could get everything from branded lunchboxes and mobile phone covers,to monthly fan magazines and clothing. But it was probably theHigh School Musicalseries of fi lms that started it all: they were fi rmly intended for a tweenage audience. So, it’s all about sales,which tells us that tweenagers must have more money, freedom and inf l uence upon their parents than they’ve ever had before.

Most children in the UK today get more pocket money than kids did a decade ago. Despite periodic problems in the economy, parents generally have more money to give than previously,since they are having fewer children on average than in the past. In addition, with a higher divorce rate in the UK compared to many other European countries, many parents don’t have as much time to spend with their children as they used to, so they try to compensate by buying presents for their children. It’s a bad habit for both parents and children to get into, but parents are under constant pressure from commercial marketing and the pleas of their children.

You may wonder how tweenagers have more freedom than previous generations. Well, UK children today are very media- and computer-literate. Many have a television in their bedrooms,and with their smartphones, tablets and laptops they’re almost permanently connected to the web! They have access to much more information about life and the world. They may have experienced a lot in life as well, since a quarter of UK children live in single-parent families, so people now say that ‘kids are getting older younger’. With such sophistication at such a young age, it’s no wonder tweenagers are able to inf l uence their parents.

UK tweenagers didn’t used to worry so much about spending money on clothes and fashion accessories. That’s changed. Now, they are very fashion-conscious and concerned about their image. In a world of television programmes that promise overnight success and fame at a young age(for example, the showsBritain’s Got TalentandAmerican Idol), some people think it’s extremely important to look fashionable. Such ideas were also promoted by both theHannah Montanastory,in which a tweenage girl suddenly becomes a world-famous pop star, and theHigh School Musicalstory, in which tweenagers go through various auditions for musicals and talent shows.

So what does tweenage fashion look like? Well, it’s quite horrible really, but then I’m a bit too old to appreciate it, I suppose. It’s lots of brightly coloured materials, particularly pink, and usually plain, not patterned. There are plenty of bows, necklaces and bracelets, too. It’s all very cute, if that’s your taste. Take the ‘Hello Kitty’ brand, for example.

Surely none of this is a good thing, is it? Can it really be healthy for us to encourage kids to belike adults at such a young age? Are we stealing childhoods in return for a bit of prof i t? Well, the UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from explicitly marketing their products and services at children.

Even the rest of UK society is concerned.Now that people are aware of the problem, there is a popular backlash against the exploitation of children by commercial marketing. In addition,many tweenagers outgrow the bright colours and fashions of their tweenage years and go for something darker, such as gothic clothing. So, is there a happy ending to this story? Well, perhaps there is for the companies.They now understand that, as tweenagers grow up, they often turn to something darker and more rebellious, such as the series ofTwilightbooks and movies which became all the rage some years ago. And there is no doubt that they will be keeping a close eye on what tweenagers and young teens are into next.

Fun corner

See if you can find these words from the article in the grid. They can be horizontal,vertical or diagonal.Example: IMAGE

1 C_TE

2 STR_CT

3 _UDIENCE

4 G_TH_C

5 PR_F_T

6 _RODUCTS

7 _UTGR_W

8 SALE_

Word of the day

A ‘fanzine’ is a magazine created for fans of a particular celebrity, band or movie.

Activity 1: Connotations

Look at the following words from the article and try to decide which ones have a positive (Pos), negative (Neg) or neutral(Neu) meaning.

1 constant pressure

2 inf l uence

3 happy ending

4 commercial exploitation

5 tweenager

6 compensate by buying presents 7 popular backlash

Activity 2: Vocabulary

Match the categories to the examples.One of the answers is given.Categories

1 slang (c)

2 merchandise

3 tweenage fashion

4 commercial exploitation

5 television programme

6 getting older younger

7 being fashion conscious

8 overnight success

Examples:

aBritain’s Got Talent

b sophistication at a young age

c tweenager (1)

d suddenly become a pop star

e branded mobile phone cover

f bright colours and bows

g spending money on clothes and image

h marketing aimed at children

Activity 3: Comprehension

Are the following statements true (T)or false (F) according to the article?

1 Tweenagers often get their parents to buy merchandise for them.

2 When parents get divorced in the UK,the children get presents.

3 Tweenagers today know more about the world than tweenagers in the past.

4 In the UK, companies market their products and services directly at children.

5 When tweenagers get older, they still wear the same style of clothes.

6 The author of the article suggests there

won’t be a happy ending for anyone.