The desecration of tween culture: What happened to Disney Channel?

Many of us fondly remember Disney Channel and Nickelodeon in their prime – the thrill of tuning into new episodes of our favourite shows, cringing at the silly storylines, or finding instant comfort in those familiar laugh tracks that played every 30 seconds. Whether it was our iconic character favourites with their predictable catchphrases, or those instantly recognisable family homes and high school hallways, it felt like we were all in on one giant inside joke. Even today, the tween shows that live rent-free in our memories continue to influence our behaviour in subtle ways. Hannah Montana and That’s So Raven weren’t just entertainment – they were the pinnacle of our childhoods. But switch on those same channels today, and you’ll find nothing resembling the magic of Victorious, iCarly, or Jessie. The very era that brought up a generation has pretty much gone dark – forgotten and irretrievable.

The networks that once launched our favourite stars and soundtracks are gone in everything but name. What’s left are reboots, recycled soundtracks, or content so different it might as well belong to another universe. Many tweens have since made the switch to streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+, but what they find there hardly matches the lore that once defined Disney Channel, and some of it is certainly not age-appropriate. Increasingly, these platforms are where children’s first encounters with adult themes happen, this time, without the sensitivity or adaptation for younger audiences. This is not to say that these old networks didn’t have any controversies of their own – they certainly did – but these ideals are now consumed through entertainment produced for adults, where it’s far more difficult to scrutinise and moderate their impact on younger viewers.

‘Tween’ culture… is dying, if not already dead

The Missing Tween

‘Tween’ culture, that is, the exclusive cultural, physical, and digital spaces for children aged 10-12, is dying, if not already dead. What was once a distinct demographic with its own television networks, magazines, and events has now become a sidelined audience, prematurely absorbed into either child or adult markets – and there is no in-between. This isn’t a simple cultural shift, but an economic model organised by changing market dynamics. Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and CBBC previously had substantial investment in this age group, but over the past decade, as society has become increasingly defined by commercial priorities, studios and media corporations have found it neither profitable nor desirable to cater to tweens. Sustaining operations for such a small and fast-ageing demographic just didn’t make financial sense anymore – it had become too costly. Meanwhile, it actually became more apparent within the industry that the returns from producing content for adults and marketing it to younger audiences were far more lucrative.

Now, instead of developing new content for tweens, the industry fast-tracks them into adult markets, priming them to emulate adult behaviours and desires earlier than ever before. Capitalism and the commodification of this industry have not only distorted the boundary between these groups, they have erased it entirely.

From Victorious to Euphoria: Early Exposure

The social and cultural implications are extensive. The tween years are a paramount stage of development – a time of curiosity, self-definition, and vulnerability. Yet today’s impressionable preteens are now navigating this period within an adult-saturated media environment, increasingly conditioned by content created for older audiences.

The ‘adultification’ of youth disturbingly aligns with broader global trends and shifts

Tweens today are now into shows like Euphoria, Love Island, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Sex Education – need I go on? These hardly age-appropriate series actively set the aesthetic and normative standards informing 12-15-year-olds on how they should perceive relationships, self-image, and sexuality. This hasn’t only sped up the sexualisation and adultification of the youth but has also influenced their long-term consumer and political behaviours. Younger audiences tend to internalise adult narratives of things like success and body image and attempt to replicate and conform to those ideals. We see this too, in the appeal of young adult actors and influencers. Whether in ‘get ready with me’ videos or clothing hauls, they present themselves to the world styled in mature makeup and dressed in grown-up fashion choices, often concealing their real age.

A Widespread Issue

This issue also extends far beyond pop culture. The ‘adultification’ of youth disturbingly aligns with broader global trends and shifts. Some of our favourite brands, including Lululemon, Brandy Melville, and Shein, have capitalised greatly from this shift, experiencing increasing popularity among tweens now drawn to styles once marketed to older women. Beauty retailers such as Sephora have indulged in the ‘#SephoraKids’ trend, reporting increased sales to younger ages, who are now purchasing high-end skincare products like retinol – formulas typically designed for adults. Countless beauty brands, such as e.l.f., have also benefited, and a closer look at these brands shows that they are tailoring marketing to the ‘tween demographic’ more directly – with Drunk Elephant facing accusations of having a ‘tween obsession’.

TikTok trends… are pushing tweens to become mini adults

TikTok trends such as the famous ‘clean girl aesthetic’, or ‘hustle culture’ and ‘gymtok’ are pushing tweens to become mini adults who must look a certain way or stay disciplined and productive. Children and teens just don’t play outside anymore, instead, they become preoccupied with their appearance or are caught up in consumerism, hiking up the demand for products that weren’t initially designed for them.

Many parents are also beginning to notice this shift. Denish Shah, Associate Professor of Marketing at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, said this: “My own daughter has been impacted by this, she asked for these products as a gift and she has never done that before, ever.” When society begins to remove the distinction between child and adult, it weakens the protections designed to support healthy development.

Reclaiming Tweenhood

We used to have an exciting, experimental culture that celebrated uniqueness and silliness – a time when teen stars could wear their funky, bright outfits and bold highlights, and just be ‘little’. It was a culture kept alive by figures like Jojo Siwa, and Disney icons like Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, who perfectly embodied the unapologetic tween persona and carried that era on their backs. Yet the Disney brand holds an unmatched legacy – one that may never be replicated.

The desecration of tween culture signals a society redefining the way it perceives childhood

Growing up as someone who adored the great Disney originals like High School Musical, I feel a deep sadness knowing that the era has ended, and I’m stuck living off the reruns that once inspired my adolescent imagination. But this goes beyond nostalgia – the desecration of tween culture signals a society redefining the way it perceives childhood itself. It exposes how television and entertainment, which are extremely responsive to market dynamics, have helped erase what was once an integral and irreplaceable stage of growing up.

Missing these spaces isn’t about reminiscing over the past – it’s about giving newer generations the chance to experience the same rush and freedom we once had. We need the restoration of ‘third spaces’ that are fun, safe, and engaging for tweens, alongside stronger regulations that clearly distinguish content and marketing by age group, and resist the incentive to convert young consumers into corporate profit. Today, the separation between these two consumer bases doesn’t actually exist, and originality seems to have been sacrificed, only to be replaced by algorithms.