Children abandon typical childhood activities and cling to beauty and materialism. Many parents are willing to make their kids happy, even if it means spending hundreds of dollars to buy Drunk Elephant tanning drops or Rare Beauty blush for their 10-year-old. Give something away.
Some may see this young man’s obsession with makeup as innocent fun.
When I was a kid, I always used the Little Mermaid eyeshadow palette. I think kids can and should experiment with makeup, but the type of makeup is important. By switching to adult brands and learning adult makeup techniques, kids today are putting far too much emphasis on their appearance.
Children should have fun experimenting with inexpensive drugstore products. It is much more suitable for children learning makeup and playing with looks. Instead, they amass an expensive collection of skin creams and serums.
Exposure to beauty creators on TikTok has kids hooked on high-end makeup brands. Social media makes children look up to adult influencers who live “perfect” lives. These influencers receive tons of PR packages, are invited on amazing trips, and have millions of raving fans.
For children of an impressionable age, this unrealistic influencer lifestyle can quickly become their biggest aspiration. The pressure on children to meet the standards of adult influencers is a reality as her 10-year-old girl runs around Sephora.
I downloaded Instagram when I was 7 years old. As you can imagine, I was too young and saw too much age-inappropriate content on Instagram. My parents were unaware of the negative effects social media exposure had on young children, and we learned these lessons the hard way. For kids today, this social media cycle is being repeated with TikTok, and its effects are even more profound.
Don’t get me wrong. I love TikTok. I enjoy sending videos to friends and creating my own content. I think it’s amazing that content creators are using apps to grow their platforms, and many people have been able to turn their lives around and build wealth.
However, I think children need to reach a certain level of maturity to create a TikTok account. Like other social media websites, TikTok users’ personal information is publicly available. The release of an embarrassing and harmful video has ruined the lives of many people.
These risks are even more severe when the subjects are children.
Just this week, five social media CEOs testified in a Senate hearing on child exploitation. They heard testimonies from parents and children who say their or their children’s use of social media has led to bullying, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and even suicide. However, the negative effects of early social media exposure are not always tragically obvious.
My personality and ambition came from a stage of clumsiness. It was played from 4th grade through 7th grade, and then revived for the second year of high school. This dark time made me realize that a person’s attitude is much more important than their looks, and that it’s totally okay if someone doesn’t like you.
I’m a big proponent of having a messy phase. Everyone needs to immerse themselves in this game for at least two years to fine-tune their character and grit. Children have to go through a period where their behavior or appearance makes them uncomfortable. This precious period is when the true inner magic begins.
The problem with “Sephora babies” isn’t just that they grow up too quickly or skip essential awkward periods. On TikTok, Sephora employees complain that customers under 13 are extremely rude. They run around unboxing products, destroying samples, and causing havoc.
Stores even removed sample products to avoid youth vandalism. I think this is a testament to how children are raised. While it’s not unheard of for children to enter high-end stores, their inability to behave appropriately has become a problem.
Children shouldn’t spend hours watching beauty creators on TikTok or obsess over high-end makeup brands. I’m not saying these videos shouldn’t exist. I actually love them. But perhaps these “Sephora babies” are being exposed to this content at too young an age. Being a child is about exploring. Let the children take a walk. However, this may not be possible at Sephora.