"Teenager" is the new term being used in the UK to describe kids at either 8--12 or 10--13 years old. More and more companies are beginning to create products and services for teenagers. The Disney Company sells music and film to teenagers and their parents. You can get everything from lunchboxes and mobile phone covers, to monthly fan magazines and clothing. It's all about sales, which suggests that teenagers must have more money, freedom and influence upon their parents than they've ever had before. Most kids in the UK today get more pocket money than kids did ten years ago. Parents have more money to give their kids than before, since parents are having fewer children. In addition, the divorce  rate in the UK is continually rising and parents spend less time with their children than they used to, so many parents try to please their children by buying them presents. It's a bad habit for both parents and kids to get into, but parents are under pressure from commercial marketing and the pleas  of their children. UK kids today are very media and computer-literate. A lot of kids have a TV, if not a computer, in their bedrooms. They have easy access to much more information about life and the world. They may have experienced a lot in life as well, since 24% of UK kids live in single-parent families, so people now say that "kids are getting older younger". With such maturity  at such a young age, it's no wonder teenagers are able to influence their parents and have more freedom than previous generations. UK teenagers never used to be worried about spending money on clothes. That's changed. Now, they are much more fashion  conscious and concerned about their image . Many of them outgrow the bright colors and fashions of kids years ago and go for something darker and more rebellious . Surely none of the above is a good thing. The UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from marketing their products and services at children. Which is true about kids in the past?
They used to have more money to spend. They couldn't influence their parents. They preferred to wear brighter clothes. They looked older than their age.