By Erika Kuehl | Staff Writer
Walking into Sephora over the holidays, I realized almost every shelf was empty. I knew part of it was because of the Christmas sales and the last-minute gift buyers. But as I looked down the aisle, I saw a 10-year-old girl running around with every shade of Rare Beauty blush, screaming at her mom.
When Gen Z girls were kids, we ran around Justice or bought every scent of Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer. Meanwhile, boys wore those Nike socks with the black line on the back. All was right in the world. So, why are kids trying to become adults when all of us are scraping for our last bits of childhood?
The influence of kids trying to appear older doesn’t stop there. I’ve heard many whisperings about girls receiving nose or boob jobs for their high school graduation presents. Is it the parents’ fault or the kids’? Either way, there seems to be a huge issue with young adults trying to change their appearance.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 87,966 cosmetic surgical procedures were performed on people ages 13-19 in 2020. Although no updated statistics exist, I can only imagine that the number is increasing yearly. With social media and influencer culture, young men and women look up to people who have spent thousands of dollars on their appearance without any public transparency.
It may seem like a huge jump from Sephora kids to adolescent plastic surgery, but these two phenomena aren’t that far off. It all boils down to the lack of self-esteem in Gen Alpha. These kids weren’t even in high school when COVID-19 hit, which means that they, like the rest of us, spent most of 2020 online. In my experience, spending a year stuck on our phones meant mass comparison and the glamorization of eating disorders.
Eating disorders rose 13% in 2020, which boils down to staring at models on Instagram all day. I, myself, was one of the 13%, and social media’s impact on self-esteem is insane. Getting bombarded by diet advice and other ways to change your appearance has always been popular, but now it’s more accessible.
Sephora kids, adolescent plastic surgery and eating disorders all come from media being pushed on younger generations. Instead of playing with toys, kids buy $80 Drunk Elephant moisturizers. It’s mass consumerism at its finest, and it makes me scared for the future of the generation.
It’s hard to embrace how you look, but taking a break from social media is important to limit negative self-talk. Influencer culture runs deep within Gen Alpha, especially with what these kids buy and how they want to look. Whatever TikTok influencer Alix Earle says is popular ends up selling out the next day.
All we can do is remember that having a personal brand is the coolest thing you can do. If we start teaching kids this, they will form their own identities apart from the newest “it-girl” Sephora products. Let’s be the older sister every one of these girls needs and remind them of how special they really are.
