Gen Alpha isn't going through their ugly phase… Here’s Why

What's an ugly phase?

The ugly phase. Also known as the awkward teen phase. A right of passage for no longer being a child and not yet a teen. The beginning of the natural urge to start experimenting with your identity through clothing and hair choices.

Braces, glasses, acne, experimenting with drugstore makeup, clunky costume jewelry, and fashions you would never be caught dead wearing today were once a natural part of growing up.

It established a sense of individuality, let us form genuine friends, and made us well-rounded, having a wide range of interests.

Growing up today with constant exposure to the pressures of social media, Gen Alpha has no margin for error and has seemingly skipped over this cringy but fundamental stage of development.

Gen-Z upbringing

Gen Z is the last generation to grow up without the complete overhaul of technological advances but is digitally connected. The desktop computer was somewhere you had to go to. Not in the palm of your hand.

Information on the Internet wasn’t vast, accessible, or niche like it is today.

When it came to beauty, most of it was trial and error, things we watched from early Youtube makeup gurus like Aaliyah Jay or Jackie Aina, or inspiration we got from our moms, older sisters and brothers, or cousins.

We also had products marketed for our age group because tween culture and young adult interests and behaviors were separate.

We had to go into the world and figure out what did and did not flatter us. We had our holy grails. Mine was a foundation that was either too light or too dark, with mascara, eyeliner, and a fruit-scented sticky lipgloss to take on the day.

It would look great in person. As the mid- to late-2010's rolled in, it was a scary site to see on flash photography. The presentation did not matter.

Gen-Alpha upbringing

Gen Alpha is the first generation born in the 21st century in a society fully immersed in technology. The iPad Kids, if you will.

Information is at their fingertips. They can type in How to do a Smoky Eye on TikTok, Instagram, or Youtube, skipping right over this awkward stage of life.

Most Gen Zers didn't have social media until middle school. Our formative years included hanging out at the mall, going to the movies, or roller skating on the weekend with friends, not playing out online.

At the time, Instagram was marketed as an online photo album. You could post a picture of a half-bitten sandwich with a sepia filter, receive 3 likes, and called it a day.

Unlike today, these kids are equating their self-worth to likes, comments, and shares, further damaging it when the content doesn't get the traction they think it deserves.

They are over exposed and comparing themselves to filters, Photoshop, and now AI-generated content, warping their self-image.

Gen Alpha Influencers

Kim Kardashian is already priming North West to be an influencer of the up-and-coming generation. She has a TikTok account featuring and managed by her mom, where she has dabbled into a few GRWMs and her daily routines, including skincare and makeup

Over-consumerism

Hobby-based activities are no longer what kids want. These kids do not realize they are being influenced 24/7 on TikTok and YouTube. They see products being demonstrated online and only want them because their favorite influencer has them.

Therefore, these products are just indicators of status and/or belonging. *cough* Drunk Elephant and Stanley Cups.

Companies are putting profits before people (as capitalism does).

Drunk Elephant has a social responsibility to inform consumers about the active ingredients they formulate and the potential harm they can cause to people outside of the target audience. The company isn't going to say that tweens cannot use them because, well, money.

Parents cannot tell the difference between adult products and kid products these days because of the packaging.

Fun, bright, and playful packaging is also marketed to Gen Zers who are currently trying to relive the things that brought them joy or are nostalgic while facing an economic crisis head-on.

Gatekeeping or guiding?

Women get critiqued throughout their lives, whether young and enjoy things outside their age group or middle-aged and wear or do childlike things.

Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t.

We, the older generations, should offer a little bit more empathy, knowing how cruel society already is.

Some millennials are turning into the player-hating aunties and uncles they swore they would never be, punching down on these kids because they look and act like mini-adults.

It makes sense that they are into skincare because they aren't using makeup just yet, and it can give them some control and joy in such a chaotic and unstable time in their lives (puberty).

However, they don't need a counter full of products containing active ingredients.

A happy medium should create a basic routine to get used to being in charge of their personal hygiene and the positive associations it can bring.

In conclusion

Gen Z and Gen A were both raised in a digital world. However, we crawled before we walked.

Our parents allowed us to buy cheap makeup. Then, we upgraded to full coverage, long-lasting makeup, and skincare as we got older and gained more knowledge and experience.

Gen Alpha's biggest buying motivation is to have the latest and greatest.

Conformity is their way of being. Deviating outside of that can unfortunately, invite peer pressure and cyberbullying, which is a valid fear.

Who wants to look like a 12-year-old when everybody on TikTok participates in the newest trend?

Gen-Alpha childhood is different from what we have ever seen before.

Instead of judging or critiquing them, we should nurture spaces where Gen A kids are encouraged to be authentic themselves, and attract like-minded individuals by having an equal balance of creative expression and mindfulness versus forcing a trending aesthetic to conform by preying on insecurities.