Are Kids Growing Up Too Quickly?
Have you ever heard of the term ‘Sephora Kid’? It’s a new term that has come about only in recent times to describe kids and young teens who are obsessed with skincare and cosmetics that are usually meant for adults.
A ‘Sephora Kid’ that you might know of is Evelyn, a 13-year-old, who popped off on TikTok for doing ‘Get-Ready-With-Me’ videos using adult-targeted products while ranting about he problems like the types of people she likes least in school. You could probably smell what her comments section is like, but let’s take a look at some typical comments she receives.
Kids are not being kids anymore. This trend of imitating grown-ups by having skincare routines, wearing skimpier clothes and demanding Stanley cups has even been noticed by big brands such as Kiehl’s. The cosmetic brand released its campaign called “Kids Should Stay Kids” in Jun 2024.
Since then, the campaign has received much love from the public and from experts such as paediatricians and dermatologists. I tend to agree with them too, if you take a look at regular kids around you…they’re happy and not worrying…
Source: Publicis Groupe France
So what has led to kids growing up too quickly?
1. Social Media
The first thing that comes to mind is likely social media. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services in 2023, up to 95% of youth, aged 13–17, use social media platforms, with a third of them stating that they use it “almost constantly”.
This means that these kids are constantly exposed to social media content. Recall the last time you scrolled through social media: what was the content shown?
If it’s anything like mine, it is filled with provocative TikTok dances, unrealistic body expectations and some brain-rot content. And this is just mine, a grown-ish 19-year-old…imagine what the same content would do to a kid.
2. Peer Pressure
The next reason you might have thought of is peer pressure. If your friends are mimicking the latest Kpop dance group and their saucy dance routines, you would want to do the same the same too.
At such a young age, your friends and their opinions would mean the world! These friends are the ones you spend the most time with, the people who truly “get you” when mom and dad just don’t get it!
With that in mind, any advice they give to you would probably be because they know you best and care about you, right? As a result, these kids would most likely fold and do what their friends are doing without thinking too much about it.
Source: cuvette.tech
3. Societal Expectations
You probably didn’t think of societal expectations as a reason but personally, growing up in Singapore made me look at life too seriously too soon.
An education system built on achieving academic prestige, parents who would whack me if I didn’t do well in school and competing against friends to get that “A” because of a bell curve. It led to less time for me to ‘grow up’ at my own pace.
I was racing so much to secure my future that I forgot to have fun while I had the time and privileges — being able to make reckless decisions with little consequences. And it definitely isn’t getting better for kids nowadays.
Source: Today Online
In the end, I think kids growing up too quickly is a modern problem that isn’t all their fault. They are just kids, they need to be nurtured and taught that it’s okay to slow down and enjoy their childhood…while also giving social media a rest.
To end off, I would like to share a quote from one of my favourite childhood YouTubers, Jacksepticeye, on growing up in this day and age.
“The mysteries of that kind of stuff are all kind of ruined now, like tooth fairies and Santa and all those kinds of things. Because of the internet, it's too easy to find all the information. Life is about discovery and learning and the journey, if the world gives you all the answers immediately then you might not know what to do with all those answers.”
