Are tweens the new teenagers? Even though they do not have jobs or their own disposable income could they be the newest and youngest consumers? Tweens would love to think they are the newest shoppers and should be catered to by the ad executives, stores and most of all their parents BUT most parents will not agree with them. Unfortunately, many ad executives will.
Tweens are an emerging demographic of children stuck between childhood and teenage. Until recently, they have simply been children or preteens but with new technology, increasing consumerism and what some consider fading family values, these children have turned into a market unto itself. By 9 or 10 (8 by some accounts) many girls and some boys are leaving childish activities behind and looking forward to becoming miniature adults like many of the teens they know.
Marketing specialists do everything they can to help promote this attitude by tweens. "By treating pre-adolescents as independent, mature consumers, marketers have been very successful in removing the gatekeepers (parents) from the picture—leaving tweens vulnerable to potentially unhealthy messages about body image, sexuality, relationships and violence." (The Tween Market) Pulling tweens away from parents provides a further disconnect from a support system that wants to see tweens stay children longer rather than become teens faster. And most parents will admit that they feel they know better than their tweens what is best. Imagine that.
How can we as library students and future librarians help these tween consumers? Since we are not marketing specialist and can't replace parents, we need to look for opportunities to provide support and help when it comes to the magazines, books and music available in the library. Workshops and group classes on handling peer pressure, computer safety, being market savvy and other pertinent information would be the best way to safely disperse information.
The Tween Market Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/issues_teens_marketing.cfm?RenderForPrint=1
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