The Teenager Ban: Is It Hurting Stores' Profit? Is It Illegal?

The Teenager Ban; you may have heard of it on the internet, or experienced it while out shopping. As online trends increase, more and more stores have started to limit the amount of teenagers allowed in a store, or how late they can stay out in certain shopping centers. Personally, I have never run into a store that has enacted a “Teenager Ban” or a mall that has set a curfew, however I have heard stories online as well as been to stores where they have applied policies to limit the amount of teens in the store. On one side, I don’t blame these stores, especially small businesses, since there are some teenagers that are disrespectful. Yet, is it legal to do so? Will it hurt profit for the stores’ that enact these policies? That’s what I want to find out. 

First, what is a “Teenager Ban”? What I see it as specifically is stores, shopping centers, restaurants, and other hang out spots limiting the amount of teenagers allowed in at once or overall not allowing them to be in the space at all. Often alongside these limitations, curfews and necessary parental supervision are issued as well. These are often fueled out of concerns of recklessness, disturbances, and physical violence that may happen when a group of teenagers are together. According to the National Youth Rights Association, 1,000 different stores all over America have either banned young people from shopping or being present without an adult present with them. Additionally the ban is not only for stores though, online websites have also started to ban teenagers, often 16-18 years old. These are not necessarily inappropriate websites either. For example, 13 year-olds are able to have a TikTok account, but many features are blocked till they are 16-18 years-old. These limitations are often put into place to prevent younger teens from being exposed to more mature content that is not appropriate. In my opinion, I believe that this is the appropriate kind of teenager ban. However, banning teenagers from socializing and hanging out with their peers at a common place is not. 

For many, these stores have their reasons for limiting the amount of teenagers they allow, or banning them overall. Yet, are there any benefits that they receive for doing so? The answer is yes, and that there is some benefits of a ban. Teenagers are most frequent shoplifters in present day. According to The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, about 25% of shoplifting cases are teenagers. So, if a company or store is struggling with multiple cases of shoplifting, and they have many teenage shoppers, they may place a ban on teenagers to try and combat the shoplifting issues. Secondly, if there is less teenagers in the stores, there may be less distractions for other customers. According to PYMNTS, many stores and malls are placing curfews and bans on teenagers because of the rise of bad behavior, mainly by trends and videos on social media, to prevent disruptions for business and make a better environment for shoppers. If many kids are trying to post “funny” trends or make videos in a store, that can definitely turn away customers that just want to shop, and it can lose profit for the store. Stores that ban teenagers because they are struggling to make profit due to teens’ bad behavior seem like they have every reason too. Lastly, as I mention prior, stores can be losing profit due to teenagers. Combined with shoplifting and driving away customers, stores are struggling to keep up with the bad behavior. Stores need to constantly make profit to continue to stay afloat or thrive. With the rise of trends –unfortunately, many are encouraging stealing– and the ability to gain followers online, stores have reasons to ban teenagers. Overall, crime, social media trends, and disruptions to other customers can damage companies’ and stores’, which I believe allows them to place policies limiting teens. 

Now, what are the negatives of banning teenagers from stores? First, teenagers are one of the biggest consumers currently for most places. According to Lexington Law, 27.7 million teenagers live in the United States, and it’s estimated that they spend $63 billion annually. Clothing, like Nike and Lululemon, is one of the biggest priorities for teens, as well as Food, like Chick-fil-A and Starbucks. Although online retailers and online shopping is becoming the norm for most younger people, Super Awesome found that 64% of teens still prefer to do shopping in-person, which is over half of the generation. This could mean that stores and malls that place policies limiting teenagers from shopping could hurt their profit, especially if they have a high volume of teenage consumers. For example, even though beauty stores like Ulta and Sephora have problems with teens making messes — which I don’t believe is okay – teenagers still make up a huge demographic that consume and buy the products that they sell. So, many stores could lose out on profit, especially if they are targeted towards the teenage demographic. Secondly, many individuals feel that restricting a huge demographic of teenagers is a form of discrimination. However, if there is a reason to restrict the amount of young adults in different places, like multiple fights or shoplifting, then yes, you should place restrictions. Yet, the problem is many stores are just placing restrictions without any prior incidents or just out of fear. This is the bigger problem. If many places are just banning teenagers for no reason, that’s just stereotypical and not appropriate to do. Especially for those who go to stores and don’t act like the teens who are being disruptive, it’s difficult to find a place to go that won’t judge, even harder if you’re with a group of friends that you just want to hang out with. 

In fact, if we look at the bigger problem at hand, it’s not that teenagers are being banned from stores: it’s that teenagers are losing “Third Spaces” to hang out in. But, what is a third space? A Third Space is a place where people can go, other than home or workplace, and socialize or unwind from the day. This can include places like churches, gyms, coffee shops, clubs, libraries, parks, theaters, or any place that you feel relaxed in. These are places that are familiar and allow you to connect with others, without the stress of being at home or at a workplace. Since they provide us with relaxation and a stress-free environment, they are a much needed place for people of all ages. According to Very Well Mind, these Third Places help people balance work and life in a healthy way since they provide a space to forget about both, and allow people to engage with many different types of people. Quoting Dr. Touroni from the article, “Being a part of a community and feeling connected is essential for good mental health.” These Third Places support diversity and fuel connection because it’s a place where everyone is going to unwind, and just relax from all the stress one may be feeling. Consequently, if you limit the amount of places one can go to feel relaxed, stress and other negative health effects can rise. This is significant for teenagers and young adults; significant for those who are in school, have a job, can’t see friends often, or just need to get out of their home for a bit. When teens have these places they can go to, they feel a sense of belonging in larger communities and they feel valued in a way that is different from a job or at home; they feel valued in a way that is respected among their peers. When teenagers feel this type of connection they are able to have a healthy mental health, which would reduce their sense of loneliness. These spaces also allow teenagers to have a space to break out of their routine. Many teens are involved in many things: schooling, a job, clubs, sports, and music are some things that teens are involved in that may feel like a routine, or could bring them stress. Having a space to go to that is irregular and breaks one out of their routine provides a break, allowing teens to be able to relax and take a breather from the stress. Third spaces also allow a space for teens to get to know different kinds of people they may not usually hang out with. As much as these spaces allow people with similarities to meet up, they also foster new connections to those most may not typically befriend, growing empathy and support. These reasons signify why it’s very important to allow teens to go and socialize in a common space. When malls, stores, and even snack spots limit teens or overall ban them, they lose the space where they can go to relax and spend time with their peers, which can often hurt them in the end. 

Since we have discussed whether it’s good or not, is it truly legal for stores and businesses to do it? Well, stores are allowed to ban an individual or individuals for almost any reason, other than illegal discrimination. According to the Michigan Retailors Association, an owner of a store can ban anyone from their store, as long as the reason for banning them is not discriminatory and doesn’t violate federal, state, and local laws. You would also have to make sure that the customer is informed of the ban. This illegal discrimination that could make a store get into legal trouble applies to discrimination towards race, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), or disability. If a store were to ban someone based on these reasons, the person would be able to sue the store based on federal laws in place, like Title Vll of the Civil Rights Act of 1984. According to this, banning teenagers from certain places is not illegal to do, since it doesn’t violate any laws that have been enacted. However, if they are doing it for other reasons beyond younger age, like race or gender identity, then the store could get in legal trouble. Stores also have the right to refuse service for good reason. Businesses have the constitutional right to refuse service from the Federal Law, especially if they are causing a scene or creating a disturbance within a business. Shoplifting, customer nuisance, physical fights, and other crimes can get someone banned for life at an establishment. Yet, it’s still a very fine line that businesses have to be careful with because of all the laws in place to protect against discrimination. Oftentimes, larger chains don’t ban people often, probably because of the long extensive paperwork that may be attached to a larger company versus a small business. I would assume that in a small business, with only one store or only a couple locations, it would be much easier to ban someone since there would be less management or authority to get it through. Overall, a store/business can ban a person or group of people from their store, as long as it’s a good reason and does not break federal laws of discrimination, and can keep the ban for multiple years. However, most stores just often refuse service rather than banning someone because of the legal trouble and paperwork that has to go into banning someone. 

At the end of the day, I don’t think it’s okay to ban teenagers from a store or public space just because of the fear that businesses owners may feel from the rise of social media trends. Of course, if a store is struggling with crime and disturbances from multiple teenagers, they have every reason to begin to take precautions against crime and lost profit. Businesses and companies have every right to refuse service and ban people from their store, if they have good reason. However, just banning a group of people with no prior problems is getting really close to the line of discrimination. If a store bans someone or a group of people based on race, sex, or national origin, that’s one thing they can certainly not do. Banning someone based on their age, in this case being younger, is still really close to being discriminatory. I admit though, that I am not the one to dictate that this is or is not discrimination; I don’t have the full knowledge either. Teenagers in general are just losing places they are able to go to, other than their houses or school/ workplace. Teenagers are losing third spaces as cities are becoming unwalkable or unbikeable, or places around them are just not suited for hangout spots and leisurely activities. If more and more stores begin to ban teens from their shops, malls, restaurants, or typical hangout spots, teenagers will have no more places to go too. To sum up, I think it’s damaging that more and more stores are starting to adopt these policies against teenagers, although some teens are outright disruptive, many teens just want a space to hang out with their friends. I think that stores should consider the effects of what they are doing like loss of profit for example, and they should reconsider. I believe the “Teenager Ban” is wrong.

***I don't own the rights to this photo!!! It was taken from a scene in the movie "Mean Girls" by Paramount Pictures!!