Rank among peers, visibly, every day
Status among peers matters more now than at any later point.
3 solutions built for it
Fashion and sneaker brands, Social media and Online gaming and communities.
Where Belonging meets Adolescence. Being attached to and accepted by other people. Belonging cannot be bought directly, so the market sells proximity to it: places to meet, tools to stay in touch, memberships, rituals, pets, and increasingly software that simulates company. It is the constant behind both the most …
6 frictions
Endless quantified comparison with everyone
Created by social media: the ranking never closes for the night.
3 solutions built for it
Parental controls and screen-time software, Adolescent mental health services and Digital wellbeing and platform age limits.
Become someone distinguishable from the parents
Taste is the first thing a teenager owns outright.
3 solutions built for it
Music streaming and fandom, Subculture goods and body modification and Concerts, festivals, and youth venues.
Attraction arrives before the tools to handle it
First romance, with real reproductive and emotional stakes.
2 solutions built for it
Social media and Sex education and adolescent health services.
Get around without a parent driving
Independence is measured in miles from home.
3 solutions built for it
Driver's licence and teen driving, Ride-hailing and Public transit.
A room of one's own, or no home at all
Privacy inside the family home, and the four million adolescents a year with none.
2 solutions built for it
Teen bedroom and dorm retail and Youth shelters and foster care.