Column: Sephora kids are the product of social media
As long as humans have existed there have been trends. From rainbow looms to the Sephora craze of today, there has always been something for little girls to compete in. Believe me, I am not innocent of judging someone based on silly trends. I remember sitting in the elementary school play yard, trading rainbow loom bracelets and judging other people based on how intricate their patterns were. With the added complication of social media and the unrealistic expectations set by influencers, judging girls by bracelet designs has transformed into judging girls on how expensive their Sephora products are, and how many they can smear on their faces.
I am sure by now everyone has seen the viral videos of Sephora employees sharing horror stories of little girls rampaging through stores to get their hands on Drunk Elephant, Sol de Janeiro and other expensive beauty products. I myself have had experiences with the newest generation of beauty gurus. When I walked into Sephora, I definitely was not expecting to get roasted and then robbed of my precious concealer. In hindsight, hearing a ten-year-old tell me that a concealer looked “too expensive” for me to purchase should have been the least concerning thing in this situation. What could a ten year old need concealer for? To cover nonexistent imperfections? To make them look older? Sadly these girls are being told that they need these products to fit in which is a complete lie.
The “role models” for children today are mostly online, and most of them are influencers. When kids see these influencers showing off ridiculously expensive products, all they want to do is replicate them to “keep up with the trends”, just like how we did with our rainbow looms and light up sketchers. The problem is the influencers kids look up to are setting absurd lifestyle expectations for them to follow. It seems the childish influence from shows we watched on Disney Channel has faded out as social media slowly takes over yet another aspect of our lives. I myself fall into these trend traps, thinking that if I don’t have the newest popular products, others will judge me, and that is exactly what is happening to these Sephora kids. While it’s no excuse for anyone to have bad behavior, if you are striving to fit in and the standard is 40 dollar concealers, you will buy it, and it is sad that young kids feel the need to as well. Fitting in and trying to find confidence in yourself is hard enough without people telling you that you need to use makeup and skincare.
For kids to compare themselves to unrealistic expectations is how we know these trends have gone too far. Social media puts so much pressure on not just kids, but everyone who uses it. Platforms create unachievable societal standards through showing unrealistic parts of life, from extreme economic prosperity to beauty expectations. Instead of reprimanding these kids for wanting to fit social media’s image, we need to redirect them away from those expectations and guide them to find their own voice in society.
