GEN ALPHA’S EARLY CONSUMERISM HABITS

By Denisse Velasco Staff Writer

For Generation Alpha, Ulta Beauty and Sephora are the new Toys “R” Us and Justice. Their playground is the skincare isles filled with moisturizers and serums. Children from this generation are being seen shopping for skincare and makeup at the young age of 10-years-old.

Social media is constantly growing and reaching a younger audience. According to a 2023 eMarketer’s article, “Gen Alpha is only the second digitally native generation, making technology a constant in their lives. In the US, 36.2 million children (ages 0 to 11) are active internet users, exceeding teen (ages 12 to 17) internet users by 11.6 million.”

Kids are using TikTok and becoming aware of the trends and aesthetics. By seeing influencers promote new products, they feel the necessity of having to immediately buy it.

According to social researcher and demographer Mark McCrindle, “Gen Alpha is expected to be the largest generation yet, with roughly 2.5 billion people by 2024, and the group is projected to have the greatest spending power in history.”

This has been evident in retail since Gen Alpha are now the customers in beauty stores. “Working in retail, I have begun to see lots of young girls around the age of 9 to 13-years-old coming in to shop for expensive skincare and makeup.” business senior Ellie Thomas said.

Gen Alpha at a young age is already contributing to consumerism and companies are becoming aware of targeting them. In an article from Marketing Brew, “A study conducted this year by digital agency Razorfish and research firm GWI that surveyed 500 members of Gen Alpha between the ages of 8 and 10 found that 51% first hear about brands through YouTube videos.” This younger generation is not being taught the importance of sustainability and how to take care of the environment.

Social media is the leading factor in having exposure to high levels of consumerism. It is essential to teach children ways to incorporate eco-friendly practices into their daily lives especially since it will help shape them into following this routine as adults.

Professor Jill Citron said that parents allow children to use social media and feel that “you can do it because your friends are doing it and then they fall into that algorithm.”

Influencers make a profit from commissions when viewers purchase products through the links they provide. An example of this is having an Amazon storefront where consumers are able to organize products into different categories. Amazon pages consist of skincare, makeup and clothing sections.

“As the Social Dilemma documentary on Netflix mentioned, if there is no product being sold to you on a platform, you are the product,” psychology professor Amy Nguyen said. “Social media platforms are free and these companies pay their influencers to make product ads on these platforms because they know their following will purchase products that they review.”

TikTok shop is a newer form used to make a profit from sales by advertising a specific product to followers. Influencers use their viewers as a target to convince them to purchase something in order to maintain the ability to be paid by brands and show how they positively help increase sales. These children feel that if they do not buy the viral product then there is a fear of being behind and not being on top of the trends.

“It’s possible that little girls are watching these beauty influencers put on makeup and idolizing them,” Nguyen said. “As a result, they may think that applying makeup is necessary to look beautiful. This can potentially encourage or motivate children to purchase beauty products similar to buying toys that are related to their favorite cartoons.”

In order to fit into the idea of being aesthetically pleasing and to reach a level of acceptance in society, these kids feel pressured into buying these items. “When children watch makeup tutorials by their favorite influencers, they are watching how to apply makeup correctly and perhaps, following along as well,” Nguyen said. For children, beauty is valued based on how much effort and money is invested in skincare and makeup routine.

Gen Alpha tends to lack confidence and are prone to insecurities because they compare themselves to what they see on their phones. Living in a country where capitalism is the focus, companies want to target the demographic that will make them the highest profit. Instead of being secure in yourself for who you are, these kids are focusing on whether they have all the products to achieve the “perfect” skincare routine.

Gen Alpha tends to lack confidence and are prone to insecurities because they compare themselves to what they see on their phones. Living in a country where capitalism is the focus, companies want to target the demographic that will make them the highest profit. Instead of being secure in yourself for who you are, these kids are focusing on whether they have all the products to achieve the “perfect” skincare routine.

In an article from Beauty Disclaimer, there is an emphasis in the United States aiming to find the best products to help achieve perfection and make you seem put together at all times.

In comparison, Europe accepts women being more natural and using products to enhance themselves rather than completely change their appearance. This limits excessive spending and leads to less plastic harming the environment.

According to the Dove Self-Esteem Project report, “Toxic beauty advice normalizes unrealistic beauty standards, promotes potentially harmful beauty practices and suggests the key to self-worth and success is physical perfection.” The high standards that women feel are now being felt by little girls. This becomes very toxic to feel pressure to change the way you look with bronzing drops, anti-aging serums and products to achieve “glass skin” before even hitting puberty.

This not only impacts children but also the rest of society. The constant spending habits are shaping a whole generation from an early age and will likely continue to get worse as they grow.

In an article from LinkedIn, “$24 billion in estimated annual spending for American kids and teens alone.” Because of unnecessary purchases, every new product that becomes available throws out whatever is out of style. This creates high waste that ultimately causes immense environmental harm.

Packaging from these products has lots of plastic that makes plastic pollution. The plastic ends up being found in landfills and oceans. It is linked to increasing the chances of natural disasters and climate change.

According to TRVST, a social justice platform, “Beauty packaging amounts to 120 billion units of trash each year, including plastic, paper, glass and metals that are improperly recycled and ultimately end up in landfills.” The waste and plastic found will drastically increase as Gen Alpha grows and has more financial access to enable their consumer habits.