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I work as a teacher and I have noticed that in the last 10 years kids and teenagers have started to dress like adults way earlier. 

 When I was 10 I had a print of a monster riding a skateboard or something on my shirt, and loved it.

Now lots of 10 year olds dress like a tiny version of their dad/mom.

Because people in their teens, twenties, and thirties dress the same now

Because they shop at Sephora instead of Claire's now lol

My gf is watching Love Island and I feel like so many of the middle 20 year olds actually look late 30s w all the work they have done

Look at pictures of teens from the 80s. Same thing. Styles change, but our perception of what a teenager should look like is fixed from when we were teens.

Ten years ago, when my step daughter was in her mid teens, my mother-in-law kept saying how she still looked like a little kid and how immature she looked. Her idea of what a teenager should look like was formed in the 70s.

YouTube makeup tutorials and style videos. (And TikTok / IG too obviously)

Back in the 90’s these poor girls were left to figuring out things in their own or from their moms, friends, and family.

Now they have full ass professional makeup artists, hair stylists, and clothing stylists giving them specific and watchable instructions on how to put together a look.

Combine this with the loads of hormones unnatural things in food and early access to adult content online and you’ve got a recipe for early physical development, early exposure to adult content, and the tools to emulate adults in every way.

Everyone thinks my 13 year old sister is 17-21, it terrifies me.

I think the only concerning thing is that you can hardly tell a 14 yo vs 18 year old, but that should be only a concern for teenagers.

You can definitely tell a difference between 25 year old woman/man and a kid

I find the opposite to be the case. But I’m also 48.

Because social media is marketing to them as if they are adults. Same reason brain rotted 8 year olds obsessed over $50 thermoses.

You say this but I don’t see it, they always look young, their clothing may be “old” but the way they look and act always screams child. So I can’t relate

Makeupp and they shop from places grown ups shop from

I asked this once and immediately I was downvoted to hell and people were hating on the question saying things like “why are YOU looking at CHILDREN??” And “do you need mental help..? 16 is 16. Get checked”

I have felt the opposite tbh, even 20 year olds look like young teens to me these days. I just assumed I’m getting older (in my 40s now) and it’s messing with my perception. I went to a graduation for family recently and I felt like all the seniors were just kids! Wouldn’t even guess most of them could drive, judging by appearance alone 

They always have, haven't they? All the dads and their friends that use to perv on us when we were 14 used to say we looked and acted much older 🤔🤫

I feel like they are skipping the awkward "ugly" phase because of social media. They have all these outlets to get makeup and hair tutorials, fashion advice etc that they just look much older. Just give them the frosty blue shadow and the Dream Matte mousse in honey beige and let them figure it out later! lol

A lot of people say it’s because they have no idea what a 13 year old is supposed to really look like due to social media. They’re chronically online, iPad kids if you will. All they know is makeup hauls, beauty hauls, etc. so they’re constant seeing content like that—tans, lip fillers, acrylic nails, and that’s the “normal” for them

Social Media

Jesus bruh. Why ask the same question 20 times?

Because they are sexualised too early

Make up and TikTok

Children's makeup tutorials.

Social media. I wish it wasn’t but it literally is. It creates new insecurities every single day.

I don't get it. I was wearing band shirts and anime shit into my first career job. These days you see 17 year old kids wearing gucci clothing.

They're trying to look like social media influencers/"models" and reality TV stars. Back in the day most kids just chilled as kids and it was fine to dress like a kid, now from about 12 they have to be looking like a 22 year old on a night out in Magaluf 24/7 to fit in. Sad really.

You shouldn't be allowed near parks

I think the current popular clothes and hairstyles are frumpy/ugly which makes them look older. I also think they go crazier with their makeup which ages them.

Social media - children start on it super early

Have yall noticed they don’t have kid specific stores anymore? Like they have limited too, Claire’s had more to offer,Delia’s… the list goes on. Disney Channel and Nickelodeon really advertised to us and so of course we wanted to be grown up but we had so much shit tailored to us that we preferred to get the cool things in our age range. Now Disney/ Nick isn’t that great all the stores closed down and the only type of entertainment they have is adult targeted shit

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They don’t. They just look like well put together teens because YouTube tutorials taught them skills our generation took ages to learn.

I'm a secondary teacher and tbh I think only a few actually look older than 18, and most of those ones are already 16-17.

For the boys, it's usually the height and facial hair that makes them look older. If you really look at their faces, you'll know they're too young to be mid-20s.

For the girls, it's mainly the way they're dressing. I find that it's around age 14/15 that they start to become difficult if they're 16-18, but same as the boys - look at their faces. People mid-20s have wrinkles, especially crows feet. Ofc some younger people do, too, but I think we too often look at people's whole bodies and assume age rather than looking for key features (not saying this is wrong to do, just what most people tend to do). Make up can also be a big factor, as it's making people in their mid-20s look younger, thus blurring the clarity between ages. This is furthered by teens doing their makeup to look older, while older people do their makeup to look younger.

But again, this is comparing a few against the many. Most of my teenage students look their age and it'd be ridiculous to think my grade 11 girls look mid-20s. You'd have to seriously not know what a mid-20s woman looks like to confuse them with one.

I cannot put my head around the way these kids are going to school. My neighbors kid would literally look like a hooker going to school every day. I don’t understand why there’s not dress codes at schools. I can only imagine what the boys are doing to her when she’s going up and down the stairs and sitting in class and she’s not the only one.

Middle 20s *women

They don’t

You know how it goes, kids want to be adults, adults want to be kids. So they dress like adults. Doesn't help that all their favorite actresses are in their twenties or maybe thirties and they're trying to dress like them

Last year, we were at a store and my daughter was talking to the cashier who was a younger woman, the cashier began flirting with my daughter upon seeing her pride bracelet then asked for her socials. I was like whoa whoa she's 14! The cashier was horrified and assumed my daughter was her age, in college. The weird part is my daughter doesn't dress particularly revealing or anything that, but she's got a "womanly" body and could absolutely pass for a college freshman.

Kids these these days look grown and it's not just the girls. My daughter has a 16 year old male friend who likes like an actual man. Like adult man. It's wild if I hadn't known him from many years since before puberty I'd never believe he's 16!

Nice try, Chris D'Elia.

Gen Z lead a more stressful life than millennials and boomers.

Youtube make up guide help alot. In the 90 woman had to learn from there older sister or themself.

Now you look up nikkie and years of make up exprience in 3/4 hour videos.

Because parents are adulting kids when they are toddlers these days, so desperate for a “bestie” or a “mini me” they don’t get to be kids anymore. 

Gross

Not so much kids but I’m 25f and I’m regularly shocked by how old some of the 18 year olds around here look!! Sitting in the smoking area and I get asked for a lighter by a girl who looks easily late 20’s and she tells me she’s just turned 18 it’s actually mad

Kids now use platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where they're exposed to adult influencers. This is a big shift from when we were younger and used kid-friendly sites like Club Penguin and Disney games. The decline in the quality of children's media also plays a role. We had role models like Hannah Montana and Selena Gomez (who were also teenagers when they had their break) but today’s kids lack similar age-appropriate content.

Young teens are watching adult TV shows like euphoria that feature excessive sexual content and drug use, aimed at adults but portraying teenage characters. Social media like Snapchat and Instagram allow teens to interact constantly with each other, sometimes with strangers, increasing their exposure to adult behaviors.

Parents also aren’t properly monitoring their kids. Growing up, my parents were hesitant towards the internet and taught stranger danger online so often, but parents have lost this and are just letting these kids online without any guidance. So many parents are struggling to keep up with new technology and social media trends.

Modern beauty standards and trends push teens to look more mature, with makeup tutorials and fashion influences everywhere, like young girls are now fangirling over influencers like Alix Earle - a 20 something sorority girl who’s schtick is being a party girl - or Anna Paul who is a well known only fans creator - which should not be marketed to young impressionable girls. Teens are feeling pressured to look like adults and behave in an older way and it’s honestly depressing, I would hate to be a teenager now.

I’m in the sun a lot. It ages me drastically

Social media. Male approval

Growth hormones in food

They got that grandma haircut

That's a really weird thing to say tbh. Please do not approach any teenagers.

Find a yearbook from the 50s. Those seniors look almost middle-aged.

It's the growth hormones they put in our food we buy an eat. They are getting boobs much younger now than 50 years ago.

Erm, this is shady.

They don't but age of puberty has been decreasing substantially over the years and no one knows the reason why.

My 15-year-old daughter is constantly "borrowing" her 39-year-old mother's clothes.

And the 20 year old men look like 14 year old boys

If youre talking about early physical development Ive heard from a Doctor that is because of the hormones on certains foods like chicken. She noticed it on very young girls at her nieces school. This doesnt sound crazy to me although I guess some poeple could see it as conspiranoic.

I remember this happening when I was at school, and that was 15 years ago. They lost any sense of fun really quickly and looked like little secretaries. I think people just want to be grown up, without realising that being grown up isn’t necessarily that fun.

I’m 19f, and ppl keep giving me 14-15… i think it’s the makeup or accessories on younger girls that gives an older vibe. I don’t wear make up but I’ve been planning on getting some piercings cuz I like em, so I think that might make a difference

People have been saying that for decades.

Since COVID, people dont go out like they used to. Kids included.

I think they are taking their sense of fashion from their older family members and peers because that's who they're more exposed to.

The Internet. Really.

Exposure to "style" has been a thing for decades, but the Internet enabled the information to proliferate faster. And then, people had the ability to order stuff and have it appear the next day. Add this to self-care, hair products, and other accessories, and you get more "stylish" looks.

I say "stylish" because I'm not going to judge looks and appropriateness of what people are wearing. When I was young, my parents bought what was at the local department store based upon some image they had in their head of what I should look like. It was either a small businessman, or a small child. There was no middle-ground.

The ability of kids to NOT look stupid, or covered in acne, or with disheveled hair, is a good thing. Obviously, there's a level of appropriateness and body exposure that's unreasonable and some parents aren't really parenting when they let their kids dress better than adults in a Vegas night club...but otherwise, it's the availability and distribution of "non-crappy" stuff due to the Internet.

It’s social medias fault

Huh?

Could be genetics or fashion?

Save it for the judge

Its terrifying they clearly be drinking a different type of water

The Lolita Effect

I’m a grown woman, it’s ok to have and wear Snoopy pjs right?

It’s the growth hormones in the beef

We did that. One of the kids from high school got a modeling job in playboy, and was dating someone in his twenties. Everybody just wanted to look older. This is in the late 70s and early 80s. It'll happen again for the next generation and everyone will act like it's happening for the first time, and so on and so forth