Oh how the times have changed!

When I was 13, boys had cooties, make-up was for grownups and it was cool to wear knitted Christmas jumpers. But oh how the times have changed. Last Thursday night I had to do a bit of shopping and drove to what I thought was my local Westfield shopping centre, but was rather confused when I walked in as it looked like a primary school cross stripper joint. I was standing there on a cold winter’s night in my jeans and jumper watching 100’s and 100’s of primary school aged children walk around in very revealing clothing. Gee they must’ve been cold!

The girls dressed in short skirts or shorts with crop tops and the boys in jeans with singlets and flat brimmed hats. It was rather late on a school night, late enough that I was looking for dinner, but as I walked into the food court, my hunger suddenly turned to sickness. All these younger children were crowded around the food court, blasting music from their phones, sitting on top of one another, basically mauling each other’s faces.

Not a good look and will definitely make you lose your appetite!

So I stood there thinking how did it change this much? How did it get so bad? What does this mean for future generations?

Maybe it is today’s music that has influenced them to act like this or maybe it’s the celebrities and how they dress which have influenced today’s society. Stars such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry are all very raunchy celebs when it comes to how they are perceived in the world. http://rihannadaily.com/  -  http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/  -  http://www.katyperry.com/home/

Or maybe it’s social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook that have influenced children to grow up 10 years too quick. People are able to do whatever they want, say whatever they want and find out whatever they want because of these sites. The biggest scandals are found on the web and the biggest news stories are posted on the web for the main reason that everyone uses them and everyone will find out in a matter of minutes.

And I guess it’s not just me that is noticing this change.

Thousands of angry parents have attacked Target for selling clothes that make little girls look like ‘tramps’. Target’s Facebook pages has received over 50,000 likes and over 2,500 comments complaining that the clothes line made for girls between the ages of 7 to 14 make them look ‘inappropriate’ and ‘like little hookers’.

It’s amazing to think that all this attention circulated after primary school teacher Ana Amini complained about the retailer’s sexualised clothing by posting, “Dear Target, Could you possibly make a range of clothing for girls 7-14 years that doesn't make them look like tramps … You have lost me as a customer when buying apparel for my daughter as I don't want her thinking shorts up her backside are the norm or fashionable.”

This is just one recent example of the impact that social media has on the world. This story went national last night, appearing on channel 7, 9 and 10 news.

When I was 13 this type of thing would never have happened. If someone posted a negative comment online about something, I don’t think anyone would have cared. Nowadays all it takes is a click of a button to gain widespread attention, potentially damage someone’s reputation and initiate action.

Oh how the times have changed!