Who Influences Teenage Girls?

They do. Teens empowered with the distance-eliminating, cost-free tools of social media have transcended the once all-powerful magazine editor and are looking past divas who once monopolized style to finding their own way around today’s markets.

The case couldn’t have been made better than it was by Tavi Gevinson, a 13-year-old from the Chicago suburbs whose blog inspired a collection by top fashion designers and sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, owners of high-fashion line Rodarte. “Tavi makes you think about things differently, makes you see things differently,” Kate told The Wall Street Journal. The collection went on to influence the fashion of teens around the world (not to mention Rodarte lovers including Keira Knightley and Cate Blanchett).

News articles might report on surveys about teens identifying Michelle Obama as their favorite role model and Miley Cyrus as their least favorite, but the role model identified in a survey doesn’t translate into influence. In fact, the reality is usually the opposite: Michelle Obama might be seen as important to teens when they’re asked about it, but when it comes to choosing between fashion brands, mobile devices or even when to start having sex, it’s Miley who’s going to be consulted.

Importantly, the power of influence on teenage girls increases as the influencer gets closer. Teenage girls are much more likely to spend money while shopping with a friend than when alone. And they’ll spend three times more money when shopping with their mom than when shopping with a friend. Influence, for the teenage girl, is about closeness. It’s about the person or outlet they can relate to and that can relate to them. It’s about sisterhood.

In a wider sense, the same trend is visible in teen magazines, which have sharpened their focus by integrating the trend of social media influence, as exemplified by style blogger Tavi Gevinson. Instead of twenty- or thirtysomething A-listers appearing in the magazines and offering advice between the covers, it’s teen stars on the covers and, much more important, teenage bloggers offering style advice in the magazine.

Teens want to hear from one another about what’s in and what’s out, what’s effective or offensive. Seventeen magazine’s Style Blog features teenage bloggers like “Courtney” and “Stephanie” who translate the style of teen stars into wearable outfits. The fact that readers can comment adds a level of engagement that translates into influence. The influence is coming in the form of a conversation with figures who represent the teens themselves.