After two decades of serving as the unofficial guide to teenage life, Teen Vogue is shutting down.
I picked up my first Teen Vogue print copy at 11 years old in 2014, giddily hiding under my covers at summer camp past lights out. I perused through pages full of the hottest reality TV shows and best-dressed pop stars.
During my teenage years, I watched the magazine begin to expand its coverage on politics and identity, especially during Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016.
The politics section gave a voice to outspoken Gen Z teenagers, while the identity section explored a wide range of subjects — from conversations on sex and relationships to physical and mental wellness.
These sections were officially established in 2017, when Teen Vogue transitioned to a fully online publication.
I often used Teen Vogue as inspiration when I wrote for The Teen Magazine in 2021. I admired how seamlessly it integrated politics with pop culture, and I tried to mirror that balance in my own articles.
But what about those of us who didn’t grow up reading Teen Vogue for politics or taboo subjects?
Teen Vogue has been a trusted source of pop culture for decades, not just for Gen Z. Its closure is a loss of representation for all teenage girls.
For millennials, Teen Vogue’s end marks the loss of a beloved, iconic source of teenage culture.
In the 2000s and early 2010s before the internet took over, all we had were print magazines — no blogs, no influencers and no livestreams. Teen Vogue became a leading creator of teenage trends.
The publication stayed relevant by evolving with the ever-changing values of teenagers. Its expansion into social justice coverage in the mid-2010s reflected a cultural shift from millennial news to Gen Z interests.
Gen Z wants more than beauty and lifestyle tips. They want to discuss important topics that connect to the world as a whole. Teen Vogue provides an outlet for teenagers’ perspectives that are essential to future discourse.
Teen Vogue isn’t pushing an agenda or making a political statement. It’s giving a voice to the youth — publishing bold, progressive editorials and op-eds written by a diverse group of teenage girls. It knows its audience wants genuine, relatable content and that the best way to deliver that is through teenagers themselves.
Now that prominent youth publications like Teen Vogue are shutting down, what does that mean for student journalists who haven’t started their career yet?
According to The Wall Street Journal, the 2026 post-graduate job market is predicted to be the worst in years. Entry-level jobs are disappearing, often replaced by artificial intelligence . Student journalists are entering a field that’s rapidly shrinking.
To many people, that fact is alarming. For me, it adds fuel to my fire.
I say this as a former moody, sarcastic and misunderstood teenager.
If you think AI can successfully crawl into the average teenager’s mind, you should try picking a teenage brain yourself. It’s not easy, and teenagers have a unique talent for recognizing disingenuous nonsense.
Teenagers are even critical of content produced by other teenagers. Regardless of the decade, that’s who they’ll always be.
This unapologetic teenage personality is pronounced in Teen Vogue’s content and is what separates it from other publications. It publishes bold articles that are direct, challenge cultural norms and provide thoughtful commentary on pop-culture.
Teen Vogue is invaluable because it provides a platform for young writers to reflect their generation’s culture and values. It gives teenagers an opportunity to speak for themselves and is one of the last mainstream publications to do so.
Its content is more than just articles. It has become an informative, trusted way for teenagers to consume news.
For our generation, the termination of Teen Vogue is a robbery of teenage voices.
AI can’t replace the diverse personalities that shine through young writing.
It’s up to us — and current teenagers — to preserve the conversations Teen Vogue has encouraged for decades and protect student journalism from AI. The departure of Teen Vogue means we must advocate and amplify teenage voices in writing.
Comment Policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to refuse the publication of entirely anonymous comments.