Miniskirts. Kissing. Profanities. Features of the rebellious teenage lifestyle. Once thought of as part and parcel of finding one’s self-identity in the adolescent stages, such traits are now increasingly being seen in today’s young children (6-12 years old). This project seeks to explore the three aspects which influence children most deeply- toys, television programmes and their clothes. To do so, we have identified Bratz, Lizzie McGuire and skimpy and “punkish” clothing as what most effectively encapsulates negative teenage behaviour.
We will be investigating the reasons behind the trend, the impacts and future development of the trend and proposing expedient measures to alleviate the repercussions of the trend. Literature Review We sourced the internet and books to unearth the reasons behind the trend, expert psychologist views, implications and predictions of the trend to reinforce what we had discovered from our preliminary research.
Our research clearly shows that children are psychologically influenced by toys, media and apparel. The essence of the findings from articles on the above-mentioned aspects are as follows: Four articles1 agree that Bratz is not only getting more popular but is even outselling Barbie. Since the popularity of Bratz will continue to increase, in time, more people will own at least one Bratz, eventually resulting in the widespread exposure of young children to Bratz.
With increased popularity for goods that embody the teenage concept, more Bratz-like dolls would be produced, which results in more advertising done to popularize the dolls. In a subtle manner, the effects of Bratz would then eventually pervade the whole population of children in Singapore. Early sexualisation is the main impact of the three aspects. Three articles2 agree that Bratz bring about that effect by the messages that are transmitted to impressionable children by the dolls’ scanty dressing and the attitude that screams from their facial expressions. Sheena Hankin, a New York child psychologist, has identified sexual dysfunction to be a possible effect of the trend.
Television programmes This year, Nickelodeon channel organised the Kids Choice Awards. According to popularity votes gathered from Singaporean children, Hilary Duff, the lead actress of “Lizzie McGuire”, was crowned the favourite female singer and celebrity. This shows that Hilary Duff is very popular amongst Singaporean children today. Thus, children are increasingly being exposed to whatever negative teenage behaviour (skimpy and ‘punkish’ dressing, kissing and dating boys, talking back at parents) she epitomizes in the show.
Apparel Children apparel which follows teenage fashion closely has been becoming more popular nowadays. As cited in an article3, Japan’s kids’ fashion king Yuzo Narumiya has decided to invest more on children apparel which incorporate teenage fashion. This implies that teenage fashion has assumed an important role in the children’s apparel market. This will in turn increase the exposure of children to teenage dressing styles.
In addition, children are exposed to teenage fashion as they often choose what they want to wear freely4. Furthermore, children favour teenage fashion more than traditional clothing nowadays5. Thus popularity of teenage fashion has increased over time. Two articles6 said scanty dressing brought about by increased production and popularity of skimpy clothes attracts unwanted sexual attraction. In conclusion, since all the information gathered above are largely based on studies made in foreign countries, we seek to carry out primary research to apply the latter into Singapore’s context.
Children covet what their friends have. Expert Interview: Ms Agnes Koh, Expert on Adolescence Psychology Due to the close link between our project and psychology, we interviewed Ms Agnes Koh to validate our deductions, as we are not qualified to make statements on child psychology, which is an integral part of our project. We concluded from the interview that there has been a generational mindset shift in recent years and children are increasingly exposed to negative teenage behaviour, thereby proving that the trend exists in Singapore.
The reasons behind the trend are that children are emulating and imitating teenagers indiscriminately as they are not psychologically mature enough to distinguish between right and wrong, reality and fantasy; their nature compels them to mimic what they see or hear, and hurt instinct7. Her suggestion to help to rectify the trend is parental guidance as it would help eliminate those misconceptions and misbehaviour. We then enquired about the impacts of the trend. She said that the repercussions are early sexualisation and sexual dysfunction, high divorce rates, and a shift of culture and societal values.