The tweens today are often found to exhibit behavior expected of teenagers. Compared to a few years, 8—12 years old children today are going on dates, talking on their own cell phones, gossiping on networks like Myspace and Facebook, and the girls are modeling themselves after teen icons by wearing makeup and dressing sexy. The vice president of Nickelodeon, Bruce Friend, states "The 12- to 14-year-olds of yesterday are the 10- to 12-'s of today" (Hymowitz, 1998). Dr. Liz Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and others say the reason it is happening is physical and social (Associated Press, 2006). Factors such as the over-sexualized media (with songs like “Promiscuous”) can lead young adolescents, especially the females, to model what they see on television.  

·         Early Maturation

Several published studies have found that pre-adolescents today are developing into teen bodies at earlier ages than before (Irvine, 2006). In the United States, the “normal range” for the onset of menarche is between 10-14 years of age (Lerner, Lerner, & Finkelstein, 2001) and 7-9 years is the range when “precocious puberty” begins (Mul, Oostdijk, & Drop, 2002). According to Posner (2006), the timing of menarche is well-linked to the appearance of female sexuality, and has become an ingredient for social anxiety. Sexual activity has also been found to be associated with earlier onset of early maturation (Flannery et al., 1993; Lam et al., 2002; Phinney, Jenson, Olsen, & Cundick, 1990; Wyatt et al., 1999). However, it still remains ambiguous as to what is considered to be “early puberty” and depends who is rating the timing (Dorn et al., 2003). According to Posner, (2006), “early puberty” is defined as

a)      a national trend in the mean age of maturation

b)      an uncommon endocrine disorder

c)      a socially defined category relative to peers, depending on the purpose of the dialogue and the professional orientation of the discussant

Simmons and Blyth (1987) found that early-maturing females were at risk for problems such as body image, school performance, and school behavior. However, they tended to be more successful with social popularity. Perhaps the popularity they gain from their “mature” appearances also results in male attention and thus provides an opportunity to enter the dating scene earlier. A sample of females between the ages of 15-19 found that early maturing females were more likely to initiate dating and intercourse earlier than the late maturing females (Phinney, Jenson, Olsen, and Cundick 1990).

·         Peer Pressure

Forming peer relationships becomes more and more central as children move into pre-adolescence, where they now find themselves in middle school. They spend the most amount of time with their peers during middle childhood than any other time (Patterson 2008). Peer pressure can cause preteens to accommodate themselves to the social norm of their peer surroundings in order to become well-liked by others.

 According to a study done by Patricia Adler with Peter Adler, by late elementary, children become aware of the behavior that will deem them “popular” by their peers (Hymowitz, 1998).

Boys: they know their popularity depends on "toughness, troublemaking, domination, coolness, and interpersonal bragging and sparring skills" (Hymowitz, 1998).

Girls: They derive status from "success at grooming, clothes, and other appearance-related variables; . . . [their] romantic success as measured through popularity and going with boys; affluence and its correlates of material possessions and leisure pursuits" (Hymowitz, 1998).

·         Young Consumers

Around the mid-1980s, marketers began to take notice of tweens and targeted their desire for independence. Research found that preadolescents were now shopping for their own clothes, shoes, accessories, drugstore items, and even family groceries (Hymowitz, 1998). According to the Washington Post, tween ads are aware of the tweens’ needs and especially their wants.  They produce ads by going by the following factors:

o   Flatter them as hip and aware almost-teens rather than out-of-it little kids

o   Present them as independent

o   They are sophisticated consumers with their own language, music and fashion.

The spa industry for instance, is one of the fastest growing industries that are targeting preteens. Children as young as 10 years old are brought to get their nails, hair, and eyebrows done, and to even get a bikini wax. The picture below is a link for a video concentrated on this issue. Spas like Simon Says in Skokie, Ill., as well as Sothy's and Salon Ouidad, in New York aim to give these adolescents a “polished” look and even offer seasonal facials such as a coconut and lemon facial to this specific age group. Some child psychologists fear that this intense focus on beauty at younger ages could cause detrimental effects such as insecurity and a negative perspective of their body-image.

·         Television and Teen Icons

A research found that young adolescents who watch television 2 or more hours per day, and who were reported as having parental disapproval of sex, but also lack of parental regulation, were each associated with increased risk of sexual intercourse within a year.

The repetitive images of gorgeous, and beautiful women that young girls see on television can assimilate their outlook in life. For instance, if young girls see sexy appearances on television and imitate the ones who are initiating these appearances on television, they are more likely to be involved in a sexual relationship earlier than they should (Knighton, 2008). Like any young child in the world, young girls’ minds are like sponges and they are more likely to soak up and imitate those on television as appearing beautiful in society: even if that “beauty” is over sexualized.

Tween icons like Miley Cyrus and the behavior she presents in and outside of television also have a great influence on young girls’ behavior. With idols like Jamie Lynn Spears who got pregnant at 16 years old, preadolescent girls may begin to have a different perception of sex and relationships. One would have thought that Miley Cyrus would have been the ideal role model for teen girls because of her character Hannah Montana, but her life outside of the show is far from a morally correct girl (Knighton, 2008). She has since been found with several private photos that seem inappropriate: like when she posed in a shower with only a white t-shirt.