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| Kylie and Kendall Jenner |
Love her or hate her, Kendall Jenner is going out with a bang before her 20th — as an “influential” teen.
The 19-year-old was named to Time’s magazine “30 Most Influential Teens
of 2015,” alongside her sister, Kylie, and other familair suspects,
such as Jaden Smith, Zendaya and Shawn Mendes .
The magazine says it created the list by looking at the youngesters’ awards and social media impact.
“We looked for teens from around the world who were doing incredible
things in their respective fields. We didn't want all actors or athletes
or social-media stars,” said, Time Senior Editor, Dan Macsai, who has
edited the list for the past two years.
So, outside of the Kardashians were some with little social media power
like high schooler, Olivia Hallisey, who created a new way to test for
the Ebola virus.
She joined a dream team of nerds, advocates and politcal figures —
proving the cool kids are no longer just popular girls and jocks.
This year, the youngest to make the list was entrepreneur-boy-wonder, Moziah Bridges.
The 13-year-old runs a $200,000-a-year clothing company, with licensing deals in upscale stores like Nieman Marcus.
He began his bow tie business at 9 years old and catapulted his income with an appearance on “Shark Tank.”
The oldest on the list was Vine star Lele Pons, who has mastered the six-second appand draws in almost 10 million followers.
Meanwhile, the Jenner sisters returned for the second year in a row,
with the magazine calling Kylie "arguably the most-watched teenager in
the world."
Kylie does have 56 million followers on Instagram and Twitter - though
she has not won a Nobel Prize (yet), like fellow list member, Malala Yousafzai.
The Nobel peace laureate has already been named among Time’s most influential people in the world twice.
“I know it's weird to see a Nobel Peace Prize winner on the same list
as someone with 40 million Instagram followers. But that's the nature of
influence in 2015,” said Macsai.
That nature is also behind the selection of first daughter Malia Obama, who was named as a “cultural icon” on the list.
Obama hasn’t been linked to any note-worthy causes or projects, though
she did recently make headlines when she was snapped playing beer pong
during a college tour at Brown University.
More notable was Texas whiz-kid Ahmed Mohamed, who sparked a national conversation on racism with his bomb “hoax.”
The magazine also threw nods to celebs who have further ignited dicsussions on race and gender.
That includes transgender activist Jazz Jennings, 15, and Disney star
Zendaya, who has been a voice in the school of body positivity, calling out E’s Guiliana Rancic for mocking her dreadlocks as “patchouli hair.”
The magazine had plenty of inspirational teens to choose from, as the
list increased to 30 young stars this year, compared to 16 two years
ago.
The increase reflects how the internet has helped broadcast young talent, Macsai said.
“It's easier than ever to be influential at a young age. Teens today have access to all kinds of tools,” he said.
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