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**A/N:: While Witch’s Brew Wednesdays contain an overarching theme that contributes directly to the Gosmic Grove brand, on Sundays I prefer to push content that explores a deeper side of the fast fashion industry or simply my mind. To put it simply, Sundays contain subjects of my own personal musings. ENJOY !!**
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Dear Shroober♥️, do you remember your tween phase of life ? Yay? Nay? Welp, either way, walk with me. Do you remember the rippling acne from caking on way too much of your mother’s makeup ? Or the mall runs to Justice where you got to shop just for you. Or the bright teal shorts over hot pink leggings (might just be speaking for myself here). And OMG with the atrocious side ponytail, too !! And coincidentally having both the confidence to walk down a runway (bc you were finally in the double digits), but also the worst inner turmoil and tween doubt to literally EVER exist bc who do you think you are ? Being cool ?! You’re only 10 years old, dammit !
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*sigh*
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Don’t you feel bad for Gen Alpha ? They’re literally reliving this right now, HA!
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Or are they …
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::Oi, it’s GROVE::
& this Sunday we’re going to explore WHY THE HELL GEN ALPHA ISN’T AWKWARD !! It’s like not taking part in a rite of passage ! It feels unnatural, polished,, possibly even curated … just like their FYP.
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IT REALLY IS THAT DAMN PHONE
It is my personal (& heavily YouTube-essayed) belief that Gen Alpha’s access to technology at such an early age at an age where the internet is no longer “the Internet” (something new to be explored, therefore requiring the capital I), has preyed upon their innate child desire to belong. Before their 6th birthday, there’s an iPad in their hands, an increasingly common event that many children below the age of 10 can relate to.
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They’re getting access to tech, specifically unlimited reels and unsupervised YouTube, way too early ! And there’s so much that they’re seeing, everyday, day in and day out, that what they see on the screen becomes their reality, and out here is just a reflection of their screen.
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Young children are becoming withdrawn, slaves to their screens, and honestly mean just for the hell of it. They’re always “on,” and they make it their mission to stay with the trends, simply the actions of a mind with only one thought on it :: “FIT IN !!!”
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I place the blame on one singular culprit :: CONSUMERISM.
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THE ELIMINATION OF TWEEN SPACES & CONSUMERIST SLAVERY
Justice (and other tween stores) closed as soon as they were old enough to want to go into the store, and their intensive social media usage tells them that what’s hot right now is adult clothing, not little kid’s clothes. Have you ever seen a kid’s CLOTHING trend ? Bc sure, there’s Bluey and Spider-man, but the majority of those fans are Gen Z reliving nostalgic childhood memories (or imagining the ones they could have had for all the Bluey watchers☹️) and those are shows and movies anyway. But the only clothing trends the youth see are the same ones Gen Z and millennials see.
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Can you even comprehend that ? There’s a large possibility that YOU have the EXACT SAME FYP as an 11-year-old !! Ahhh !! That’s scary !!!
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Lol, anyways, what exactly does an eleven year-old’s FYP have to do with consumerism ?? I mean, just because a kid sees a trendy fit doesn’t mean their parents are going to buy it for them, right ? Wrong ! Due to the lack of tween spaces and the aesthetically noticeable jump between elementary “my grandma bought me this shirt” fashion and young adult/adult attire, brands have taken advantage of Gen Alpha’s social media presence as a new, vulnerable audience to market to. Women’s and men’s clothing are becoming available in smaller and smaller sizes, specifically to appeal to the desires of the youth to grow up fast AND to appeal to the root of this rising problem :: the parents.
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WHY LOOK YOUR KID IN THE EYE WHEN THEY CAN LOOK INTO AN iPAD INSTEAD ?
To put it simply, parents are not parenting anymore. They shove a screen into their kid’s face before they can read and treat them like accessories. They aren’t letting kids explore themselves, instead mistaking trend-seeking behaviors as personal expression. Now middle schoolers are wearing bodycon dresses and toddlers are in crop tops, and of course child predators are having the time of their lives disarming the general public with comments such as “you’re making it weird she looks cute” and “if you don’t like it keep scrolling.”
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I notice that these instances of younger kids looking older tends to happen especially in young girls. No surprise there, but this just further pushes the point that unsupervised internet access, especially for young girls, tends to speedrun their descent into self doubt and strict adherence to unrealistic beauty standards. Now, this pubescent exposure to beauty standards doesn’t only affect young girls, but the boys, too. I’ve watched them take it upon themselves to uphold these beauty standards, not exactly rating the girls, but definitely giving significant attention to the more mature-seeming ones. And mature for this age group typically means the meanest and the prettiest, because obviously they have to be pretty, but they’ve also got to have the same humor as the boys, so mean.
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Parents of Gen Alpha also have a tendency to post them on social media, posing their kids up as “mini-mes,” further encouraging brand marketing towards all ages and having adult garments available in smaller and smaller sizes. This accessorification of children has bred emotional immature 12 year-old bullies that persecute anything different (whatever they don’t see on social media) and have the emotional maturity of a 6 year-old, despite having basic knowledge of what’s right and wrong.
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PERSONAL ANECDOTE
As someone that works with children, I could go one for 3 hours about how the socialization of Gen Alpha is severely lacking. Most likely due to their early exposure to the internet, their version of a childhood show is YouTuber Ryan from “Ryan’s World,” and the brainrot clips and new-age cash-grab movies have no moral lesson, focusing on individuality and disregarding the opinion of others to achieve your goals. This is all fine and dandy if tempered with community-based childhood movies in which you rely on those around you to save the world/unfreeze Arendel/defeat an old man grieving over his lost astronaut daughter, but this focus on “don’t care about other people’s opinions, just do what I want,” is exactly what has led to the rise in resignations from teachers.
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Gen Alpha kids are selfish bullies, willing to band together against a common enemy if it means fitting in, and they essentially have no concept of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Just what they want to do and who keeps trying to stop them from doing it. This insistence on mob mentality and group depersonalization is the exact formula that breeds the most perfectly chaotic consumer, because they have no awareness of ethical brands, and they don’t care even if they do. They just want clothes, even if they’re not going to wear them, and they’re not very good at taking no for an answer.
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They eat what they’re fed and will snatch food off of the plates closest to them to get more. They’re totally plugged in to modern-day consumerism, except they’re not doing “social media detoxes” or learning how to upcycle. They’ve evolved into an extension of their parents’ pockets, consumers that reject community in favor of individualism, sustainability in favor of immediate ownership, and, as we all know, the best way to destroy something (like an eco-aware community perhaps) is from the inside.
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WHAT IF>>>
What if Gen Z is the last generation to fight for a sustainable future ?? What if the eco-nihilistic nature of Gen Alpha is the last straw on Mother Earth’s aching back ?? What then ?? How can we continue to create community and encourage consumer resistance against big brands ??
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Just a little something to think about …
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::Oi, it’s GROVE::
& today’s youth (Gen Alpha) have become the embodiment of the world’s trends, and by extension, a reflection of society’s morals and values. With the rise of FOMO, children’s innate desire to fit in, and money-hungry capitalistic corporations hell-bent on raking in more profit (even if that means playing on Gen Alpha’s insecurities), the U.S.’s capitalistic self-sacrificing nature continues to rear its head in the minds of our youth.
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We are sacrificing a period of personal growth and self-confidence to instead invite in self-doubt and intensive spending. Combine this push to consumerist slavery with the rise of “Pay Later” options, and a real consumer debt problem is blooming and booming. But that’s a story for another time.
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They’re trying out new consumerist tactics on the youth; disabling the “off” switch, selling kids a problem, and then having the perfect solution to the brand-created issue. They want you to stop thinking, keep buying, keep working, and keep buying. They’re trying to disable the nation’s critical thinking.
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Do not let Them disable YOU .
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Sincerely,
The GRove MAster™
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;:GROVE OUT:;
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