It used to be a David Beckham poster, dream catcher, lava lamp and 'Groovy Chick' bedspread - but now the average teen girls' bedroom is all about white painted walls, fairy lights and a full length mirror, with not a poster in sight... and it's all down to the likes of Zoella and Tanya Burr.
The findings of a new study have revealed that the millennial teen generation are effectively ‘skipping a phase’ when it comes to their bedrooms – jumping straight from child hood to adult hood. And the prime reason is the influence of social media stars, such as Zoella and Tanya Burr; along with others including the likes of Lydia Elise Millen, Lily Melrose, Sarah Ashcroft and Victoria Magrath.
If you were a teenager of a certain era, you could guarantee that your bedroom would be fairly similar to your friends, with identical era-defining iconic items that ‘every teenage girl had’ – from posters of the Beatles in the 1960s or Take That in the 1990s, to Troll lampshades in the 1980s and Groovy Chick bedspreads in the 2000s.
However, new research has revealed the huge impact and influence that social media is having on teenage girls’ – which is demonstrated in their bedrooms more-so than anywhere else, with so-called rogue teenage fads and trends, including posters of the latest popstars and heartthrobs on bedrooms walls consigned to history, as they are no longer ‘cool’ or relevant.
The study of 4,000 females in total was undertaken on behalf of George Home by Asda. It compared the responses of 2,000 adult women aged 23-62 years old, with the responses of 2,000 teenage females aged 13-19 years, in order to paint a picture of how typical teenage bedrooms compare throughout the last fifty or so years.
The study shows that millennials are increasingly opt for calming and tranquil décor (79%) – whereas 57% of 53-62 year olds say they had patterned wall paper. 29% of 2017 teens say that they have white walls and plain fairy lights to replicate the typical style they see in the videos of the bedrooms and homes of their favourite Youtube vloggers.
Posters on bedroom walls are pretty much being phased out in the modern day, with just 7% of teens admitting that they put up giant sized pictures of their heroes – this compares to 68% in the 1960s, 64% in the 1970sm 88% in the 1980s and 79% in the 1990s.
More than half of the teens surveyed (57%) claim that they want to show their own personality and their bedroom is a reflection of this. So gone are the days of matchy-matchy everything – meaning the eighties trend of having a Troll-themed bed set, lamp shade, rug, bean bag, and wallpaper, or the matching Groovy Chick equivalent of the noughties, are gone.
However, almost half of people who grew up in the 1970s (48%) and a third of people who grew up in the 1980s (33%), said that matching bed linen, curtains and cushions were essentials to be ‘cool’.
By comparison to the 1980’s and 1990s (62% and 69%) of people said that when they were teens they wanted their bedrooms to look like those of their peers and school friends, to show shared interests.
Just over a third (34%) of 2017 teenagers say they think it is more important that their bedroom looks 'grown up' than anything else – and the result is that we are seeing more traditional, timeless and classy taste in teen bedrooms, rather than the more faddy trends of years gone by.
Past generations had 'fun' things such as glow in the dark stickers, cuddly toys and seemed to be less concerned with the way that they were perceived. More than a third donned their walls with cut outs from magazines and newspapers (37%), which is unheard of in today’s digital age.
Technology has played a constant influential role – with the 1960s having record players, the 1980s cassette tapes and the 1990s CDs, which of course influenced the posters adorning bedroom walls across the UK, based on what people were listening to.
However in 2017, the role is different with 71% of teen bedrooms having a laptop and 88% smartphone, meaning ease of access to the internet is giving more influence to vloggers – but rather than putting up a poster of Zoella and the likes to worship them like a hero, teens can see what their equivalent bedrooms look like and therefore they actually want to simply ‘replicate’ their styles.
TYPICAL TEEN BEDROOMS THROUGH THE ERAS:
1960s- If you are aged 63-72 then you grew up as a ‘teen of the sixties' and a typical teenage girl’s bedroom would have included: a Beatles poster, typewriter, transistor radio, newspaper cuttings on the wall and a shag pile rug.
1970s- If you are aged 53-62 then you grew up as a ‘teen of the seventies’ and a typical teenage girl’s bedroom would have included: a rolling stones poster, crochet blanket, patterned wallpaper and pop art.
1980s - If you are aged 43-52 then you grew up as a ‘teen of the eighties' and a typical teenage girl’s bedroom would have included: a Michael Jackson poster, stereo radio cassette, pastel wall colours and a bed valance.
1990s - If you are aged 33-42 then you grew up as a ‘teen of the nineties' and a typical teenage girl’s bedroom would have included: a Take that poster, television, VCR and built in wardrobes.
2000s - If you are aged 23-32 then you grew up as a ‘teen of the noughties' and a typical teenage girl’s bedroom would have included: and David Beckham poster, dream catcher, lava lamp and glow-in the dark stickers
In 2017, it’s white painted walls, no posters, fairy lights and a full length mirror with make-up, hair straighteners and your tablet device all within reaching distance!
A spokesperson for George Home at Asda, said: “Times are changing and so are people and especially our homes – none less so than the bedrooms of our teenagers, which when we make a comparison is something we can all relate to, whether adults or teenagers in 2017. In the past bedrooms typically tended feature similar items and a look a feel, as essentially friends tried to copy friends. In the modern day, access to the internet and superstar vloggers have played a huge role in changing this, driving a more grown-up approach and appreciate for trends and what’s current and popular with a much younger audience; via popular via their heavily subscribed Instagram, Youtube and Snapchat channel. It may be different to eras gone by, but perhaps the fact that teenage girls want to reflect their own individual style in their bedroom décor is a sign of empowerment and positive influence. With our new George Home range the collection is geared towards creating the bedroom of your dreams with our new range of furniture and bedding is affordable and stylish.”
The study was undertaken on behalf of George Home By Asda to mark the launch of its new Spring/Summer 2017 home ware collection. To view it go to: www.george.com