Tween as a Media Construct

(Delayed post...this what I get for not recognizing this was saved as a draft and not published! Sorry guys!)
Discussion: "There are some that say that tween is a media constuction. How does the media construct the "tween" and what are concerns with this?"

Some say that "tween" is a media construction and in some fashion they are correct. Obviously the age group, 8 or 9 to 12 or 13 has always existed, but it was publishing and media that began marketing to it, and thus justified its existence. (This is also the topic of my research paper).

John Newbery, the man for whom the literary award is named, was touted as the first person to actively market to children via literature, by placing ads in the back of his books, oddly enough, for pharmaceuticals. Whether it was the naivete of the children who read the novels or the legitimacy that the printed word seemed to provide, it was enormously effective. I can remember seeing ads in my comic books and choose-your-own adventure novels for items ranging from sea monkeys, to x-ray glasses, to magic tricks and other books, and I can assure you, they were equally effective. But, it was this successfully marketing strategy that really led to the development of tween literature.

Of course, some people will say that it developed because of the new studies that came out splitting developmental phases and progressions at different ages, showing that each stage had separate needs. This is, in part, true. However, I maintain that it is the purchasing power behind the "tween" age, that led to the legitimacy of the term and the increased focus on catering to their needs and wants.

In the 1930's, labor laws were passed that prohibitied "tween" aged children from working, though the term was not used at the time. At this point, these children ceased being breadwinners and instead became dedicated consumers, focused on leisure, school and homelife as it pertains to children. They spent their own money on books and associated merchandise and as time went on, a multi-tiered literacy model developed, including music, radio, books and movies, combined with product merchandising and placement, to further legitimacize the age as its own entity. Take for example the old serial radio (and eventually tv) shows of the 1930's, late 1940's, 50's, and 60's with branded merchandise in shop windows, and secret decoder wheels you could send away for with the sponsors' product box tops. Little Orphan Annie, the Lone Ranger and Howdy Doody are prime examples. The success of these programs in that middle childhood age range, between child and true teen, thus coined the 90's term "tween", laid the groundwork for Strawberry Shortcake, the Smurfs, Hannah Montana, New Kids on the Block....multi-million dollar properties that branched out into merchandise due to the ability of tween children to influence the spending habits of their children and to use their own pocket money on material goods.

The media, particularly where advertising is concerned, places these products, in everyone's faces so that they are impossible to miss. They get celebrities to endorse them, or indeed, create celebrities within the brand that promote just by being a part of it. Tweens have the need to emulate those that they see as being role models, whether good or bad and that directly influences their purchasing power. In part, advertising in the media is what has led to the monster commercialism that children in this category have fallen prey to, necessitating discussions on consumerism much earlier than in previous generations.

Just think about it. Watch outside a movie theater for 20 minutes and see how many children, particularly girls, who are, for some reason, encouraged, or perhaps marketed to more frequently (perhaps the marketers are targeting them young to influence their shopping habits as adults with their own tweens and children?), and see just how many are wearing a t-shirt or accessory of a "tween" band, artist, book, movie or phenomenon. See how many are willing to go "unbranded" and how many cling to their brands like a life-raft of popularity. For an impressionable age group that wants desperately to fit in while feeling more grown up, it should seem almost manipulative to market directly to them, and in some cases it can be. However, adolescence is one of the most difficult experiences, a rite of passage, that a child can go through. It is the transition between childhood and semi-adulthood and the developmental needs are significantly different than those younger or older than them. They are in great need of materials that help them develop positive identities, ties with their communities, self-esteem and other developmental assets, more so know that ever previously recognized, in no small part to the availability of materials much more adult in scope that are available to them, as well as the unique experiences of an adolescent growing up in an increasingly confusing and difficult global community where one has to fight to realize that their differences are acceptable, and more importantly, vital.