What's it like to be a tween in 1999? It means reading
everything from Teen People to YM to Girls'
Life to a whole range of skateboarding and surfing magazines.
It means having your own e-mail address--or at least being on your
way to getting one. It means, ultimately, being who you are.
Like 11-year-old Taylor Carico, who listens to teenage singing
superstar Britney Spears and plays volleyball twice a week.
"I'm so busy," says the tween, citing a shopping
preference for department stores like Macy's and Nordstrom. How
much do friends influence her buying decisions? "I don't
usually copy what friends wear," Carico says. "I just
wear what I'm comfortable with."
"A lot of my friends buy stuff they see in magazines,"
offers Cassie Kreitner, 11, who frequently shops at Limited Too and
Old Navy. Describing her generation as "talkative,"
Kreitner says peer pressure goes only so far: "With clothing,
if I see someone [wearing something I like], I might get something
similar to it, but not exactly the same."
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For 11-year-old Ricky Norris, watching Pokémon on TV is a
favorite way to spend time--as is occasionally acting in TV
commercials. Like a lot of tweens, Norris also enjoys auto-racing
(as a spectator, not a participant) and playing hockey. What's
cool to him? Vans, Billabong clothing--and Mom surprising him with
gifts of new threads.
"We [shop] together," says Amanda Limburg of herself
and her mother. "We look through the store, and I pick out
what I like, and she picks out what she likes, and we agree on what
to get." Although she still enjoys visiting Disneyland, this
11-year-old admits she's outgrown some Disney stuff and leans
towards such stores as Limited Too, Old Navy and the Gap. How does
she view today's tweens? Replies Limburg, "We're
weird, I think."