The Disappearing of Preteen Spaces
By Sophie Phay
Some specific places that come to mind as preteen (children between the ages of 9 and 12) spaces from the early 2000s are Justice, Claire's and Club Penguin. These spaces were available both physically and online, ensuring access for most tweens.
Adobe Flash offered a majority of the online spaces through websites like Club Penguin, Cool Math Games and Animal Jam. These games were specifically marketed towards this age range of preteens, which helped create an environment where kids could gather and have fun on the Internet together.
Then during 2020s, it was announced that Adobe Flash would no longer be updating the software due to safety concerns, according to NBC News. This caused sites like Animal Jam and Cool Math Games to not run their games properly.
Other online spaces, like Tumblr, lost popularity with the increased interest in social media websites and apps, like Instagram or TikTok. Despite not being designed for children, because it has little to no rules, current preteens and teens miss that age of the internet. There are even popular trends they still refer to as "tumblrcore."
"Algorithms ruined the original intention of social media and left us uninspired that they yearn for the time when social media was used just for fun and not being used as a way to get famous," JR Atkins explained in her article called "The Kids Yearn for 2014 Tumblr."
Physical spaces, such as the clothing and accessory stores, Justice and Claire's, were most commonly found in malls. These two spaces were lost to similar fates of bankruptcy at different times.
While Claire's still has some stores open today, they tend to be empty. Claire’s was a popular preteen store geared towards girls, selling products like make up, jewelry, bags or bag accessories. They even offered in-store piercings done with a piercing gun that made them extra-appealing to those on the edge of teen-dom.
Claire’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to “maximize the value of its business."
Justice was popular for their track suits that had a distinct pink or dark blue with the word "justice" on the back in rhinestones. These suits served as the preteen's alternative to Juicy Couture tracksuits that were often worn by teens or young adults. They closed in 2020 due to their parent company, Ascena Retail Group, filing for bankruptcy. USA Today stated that Ascena plans to move Justice to being primarily online, dissolving the physical space.
It seems the reason for the disappearance of teen spaces is money. As most filed for bankruptcy due to loss of customers or they were shut down due to outside circumstances. This begs the question: does this contribute to the loss of the preteen itself?