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20 years ago was 1993. Marketing obsession with teenagers predates 1993 by decades, and with good reason--brand impressions created by age 16 can last for life.

In earlier, healthier economic times, teenagers actually had buying power too because they could work minimum wage jobs without having to pay bills.

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I was going to say something similar. The poster sounds like a young one, assuming things were different before he was born. Not so. For example, back in the 60's muscle cars were hugely important for auto makers and they were largely an object of teen lust. High schoolers and their cars used to be really important; young people's love affair with cars has waned in last couple decades. And teenagers have determined large amounts of adult (i.e, their parents) spending for long time, which has made them target of advertisers for just as long.

Marketing to teenagers definitely goes back decades, but not forever. I believe it is very much a post-WWII phenomenon.

What bills do teenagers have to pay now that they didn't in 1993?

The only thing that I can think of would be a phone bill.

It's not that they have more bills, it's that they're less likely to have jobs.

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