We Need Teen Magazines Again and Not Just for Nostalgia
Why nostalgia for Seventeen and Teen Vogue isn’t just about fashion, it’s about identity, representation, and community.
Katseye for Teen Vogue. Courtesy of Teen Vogue
This week, I was scrolling through Instagram, as usual, when I saw the same two photos of Oke Intunu and Emily Zirimis, taken at different times. They had shared a picture of their IDs at Condé Nast, accompanied by a poignant caption: The end of an era, we’ll miss you Teen Vogue. Not knowing what had happened, I started digging. Condé Nast announced it would merge Teen Vogue with Vogue.com. As a major fashion enthusiast, and with an older sister who used to buy magazines every Wednesday and subscribe to receive them, I realized that today’s youth no longer have magazines to escape reality, or sources tailored to their interests and world. Why is youth content being deprioritized, and why is everything being merged?
A Memory of the Glossy Era
About 14 years ago, I would sneak up to the attic on weekends, stealing a pile of magazines from my sister’s stash whenever she wasn’t around. Lying on my bed, pens ready to take notes on a separate sheet, feet up with stolen Seventeens and Teen Vogues. Dog-eared pages from fashion spreads, posters of Justin Bieber or Hannah Montana immediately hung on my wall, quizzes to figure out if I was more Gabriella or Sharpay, and of course, perfume samples to smell good at school on Monday. This was reality for many teens who are now young adults. Our world felt enormous. Everything we knew about fashion, friendships, lifestyle, and ourselves was between those covers.
Fast forward to now: the glossy bibles have been replaced by “For You” pages. Major social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest curate our taste, self-image, and even our sense of identity. Looking back at the past and comparing it to today, we have to ask: can an algorithm ever truly replace an editorial team full of people who genuinely care about the next generation and what they need?
The Golden Age of Teen Magazines
Before algorithms dictated what we saw, thought, and felt, some magazines did that. They captured our attention with their shiny covers and the tactile experience of printed pages. From the ’90s to the early 2010s, teen magazines reached their peak. Seventeen, Elle Girl, Cosmogirl, and, of course, Teen Vogue were the holy grail of teen life. These publications taught a generation of girls (and boys) who they were or who they wanted to be. They struck the perfect balance of fashion, pop culture, beauty tips, and stories about friendships, love, and insecurities.
Every month felt like an event. Magazines pampered you with quizzes, posters, and more. They weren’t just entertainment; they were mirrors, showing you that you weren’t alone. You found recognition in columns about first loves and friendship struggles. Even your deepest dreams were framed through celebrity interviews. Fashion editorials and advice sections built a sense of community long before social media claimed to do so. In their heyday, they dictated trends and bridged aspiration and reality.
Teen Vogue later stood out by addressing political and social issues, such as feminism, racism, climate change, and LGBTQ+ topics, amid lip gloss and denim trends.
With the rise of the internet and social media, we have gradually lost the exclusive, monthly experience. Actually, it’s already gone. Nearly everything has been replaced by an endless stream of perfect content. Everyone now has a voice, a platform, and an opinion. The glossy world of editors has given way to the raw honesty of users. Teen magazines were the original influencer culture. You could get lost in the pages, but always emerge with something new: an idea, a dream, a voice.
Image Courtesy of Teen Vogue & Seventeen
The Digital Shockwave: From Glossy Pages to Ring Lights, The Rise of Influencers
In the 2010s, audiences shifted online en masse, and advertisers followed. Smartphones were a major driver, think Steve Jobs unveiling the first iPhone, or the arrival of Instagram and Snapchat. Teens traded real life for online life. As a result, circulation dropped, editorial teams shrank, and iconic titles disappeared from shelves. Competition was fierce, and painful decisions were made. Influencers took over as the new editors.
Where magazines spent months curating, styling, and storytelling, now algorithms decide which posts or videos “pop.” The result? An endless scroll of trends, memes, and challenges less nuanced, less contextual, and made for everyone. But this isn’t necessarily a defeat; it’s also a kind of victory. Young people now have a voice like never before. There’s room for everyone to create content and form communities around shared niche interests. What magazines once did with carefully curated pages now happens on thousands of screens simultaneously: fleeting, chaotic, but also incredibly democratic.
The magic of those magazines now lives in the digital world. Not in glossy pages, but in communities built around content, in trends that youth themselves create and spread, and in the endless search for identity, as it always has been. The generation that grew up with posters and printed pages understands that feeling. And perhaps that’s the link between then and now: the exact search for inspiration, but in a new digital language.
The Loss of Print: Curation, Safety, and Rhythm
With the disappearance of teen print magazines, more than ink and paper were lost. We lost curation. Editors with a sharp vision for teens who selected what was truly worthwhile. Today, scrolling and algorithms have taken over that task, without understanding what teens really want or crave. Articles were carefully assembled, and interviews were conducted with depth.
A sense of safety also disappeared. Columns on body image, sexuality, or consent provided a framework for teens to read, learn, and reflect without the risk of being exploited by clickbait or algorithmically driven viral content. Print allowed time to think, to pause, to appreciate nuance.
Yet the digital world also proved that curiosity hasn’t vanished. When Teen Vogue, under Elaine Welteroth, transformed into a political and cultural platform in 2016, it became clear that young people wanted more than superficial fashion. They wanted representation, knowledge, inclusion, and nuance. Articles on racial justice, LGBTQ+ issues, feminism, and political engagement reached over 12 million digital readers per month within a year. Evidence showed that content does matter as long as it’s delivered with care and vision.
So the death of print didn’t end curiosity, but it did erase a safe, guided space for that curiosity to grow. The digital era offers speed and access, but often lacks the calm, intimacy, and attentive focus that print provided.
Elaine Welteroth for Lulu & Georgia. Courtest of Lulu & Georgia
What Teens Read Today: Scrolling Between a Thousand Worlds
Today, teens navigate an infinite universe of micro-media. TikTok dictates trends faster than traditional media, while Pinterest serves as a digital moodboard of aesthetic inspiration and creative ideas. YouTube replaces makeup tutorials and styling advice that magazines once provided, and Substack newsletters offer niche insights once found in magazine inserts or special sections.
Digital zines and collectives like Polyester Zine, Crack Magazine, and The Face (which made a comeback) revive the magazine's spirit, this time online. They offer in-depth stories, photography, cultural critique, and personal essays via Instagram, podcasts, or their own platforms. Yet the landscape is fragmented. Where once there was a shared culture, now there are thousands of microcultures. There are more voices than ever, but less cohesion. The collective sense of “we, the readers” has been replaced by “me, the follower.”
Why Teen Magazines Are Still Needed
Teen media was never just entertainment; it was a form of education you didn’t get in school, wrapped in glitter letters, fashion editorials, and pop culture. They offered gentle guidance through a complicated world. They taught you who you are, who you want to be, and how to express yourself.
A good teen magazine, whether digital or print, does more than give superficial tips. It provides context, shows why stories matter, and allows teens to recognize themselves in experiences beyond viral challenges or clickbait. The future of teen media lies in a hybrid model. Digital zines can build communities where teens contribute, podcasts can combine entertainment with depth, and interactive platforms can engage youth on topics that matter to them.
““Teen girls are not too young to be taken seriously, they’re the first to notice how the world is changing.””
Maybe that’s the core truth: teen magazines aren’t dead. They’re waiting for a new generation to say: this is our voice, in our way. They’re waiting for creators who combine curiosity, critical thinking, and community with the speed of digital media. They’re waiting for a time when content doesn’t just need to go viral, but also be meaningful.
Follow that new zine, support a young editorial team, or start one yourself. Because if glossy magazines taught us anything, it’s this: stories shape us. They inspire us and remind us that identity doesn’t exist only online; it exists in shared moments, in the choices we make, and in the communities we build.
In 2025 and beyond, it’s no longer about paper; it’s about impact. About space for curiosity, reflection, and courage. About a voice that says: this is me, and I deserve to be heard. And maybe that’s precisely what teen magazines have always wanted: to give young people a place to grow, dream, and find themselves.