In Defense Of: Internationally Renowned Tween Vine Stars
April Sinclair didn’t know what awaited her one fateful day last June. She was simply putting on lipstick, she didn’t know that her little brother’s commentary would cause that six second make-up tutorial to go viral. Peter Delvridge’s plan was just to make the football team and get through freshman year unscathed — little did he know he would accomplish much more than that when he filmed his reaction to the roster being posted in the lunch hall. Everyday, regular Tweens are becoming suddenly internationally renowned for their hilarity, insight, poise, and timing. Adult ridicule is at an all-time high for these tiny celebs — but I’ll argue that these teens are not guilty of their crimes. They’re just the product of the world we adults have created for them.
Tweens like April and Peter are just two of the thousands of recent celebrities who have found fame in 6 seconds or less. Never before have we experienced this level of instantaneous stardom, and some parents are concerned about the level of connectivity this promotes in their peers. Granted, being an extremely famous vine star at age of 14 with product promotion deals, invites to movie premieres, and swag bags has it’s challenges for most modern parents — and it’s not as easy to accommodate as a soccer tournament. These young superstars are often on the receiving end of so much judgement around their newfound vocation, that it leaves them feeling unsupported, afraid of adults, and all-around angsty. What we see coming out of these feelings is a deeper dive into the social realm, uniting their followers against a common enemy — adults. What we fear as adults is this uprising, and that fuels our critique — completing the cycle.
What it is important to remember is that Internationally Renowned Tween Vine Stars are just like you were as a tween. They’re growing, learning, hormonally confused, extremely self-conscious, and highly aware of their peer’s opinion of them. Tween Vine Stars are just trying to make it through another day, just like the rest of us. We should be allowing them to blossom on the platform adults have created and handed over to tweens (only tore-claim that same platform in a few years by including themselves in it’s user base) and sit back to enjoy the world in which they exceed expectations instead of just being “meh” about everything.
In conclusion, we should cut those Internationally Renowned Tween Vine Stars some slack. Because although they are precocious and pre-occupied with their internet love affair — they’re just really usually not that into stuff and we should be happy they’ve found a hobby. So go forth and hug a tween, and who knows, maybe they’ll film it and maybe it’ll go viral and you’ll get to go on Ellen Degeneres and get a taste of what it’s like to be an Internationally Renowned Tween Vine Star.
