In the 2020s a new wave of young stars will impose themselves on the public consciousness.
Just as the 2010s ushered in the likes of Malala Yousafzai, Justin Bieber, and Logan Paul, the 2020s look to be burgeoning with excellence.
Scroll down to see the 12 teens we think will take the next decade in their stride, dominating their fields, and making headlines around the world. 2019 was a huge year for 16-year-old E-sports star Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf.
In July, he won $3 million after winning the Fortnite World Cup final, beating 40 million players. Fortnite is the most popular video game in the world with more than 250 million registered players.
In November, he was named Esports PC Player of the Year at the 2019 Esports Awards, as well as winning the PC Rookie of the Year.
He also won Esports player of the year at the 2019 Game Awards.
Giersdorf has nearly 600,000 followers on Twitter, 1.3 million followers on Twitch, and 1.5 million followers on YouTube.
Journalist Muhammad Najem, 16
Muhammad Najem, 16, is known as the "Little Journalist."
Najem, from western Syria, began documenting the impact of chemical weapons attack on his town and Idlib by Bashar al-Assad in 2017.
Najem's videos, posted to his YouTube page, were stark and harrowing.
Najem eventually fled his home and now lives in Turkey, but continues to post videos about the situation in Syria.
"We cannot give up on our cause," he told the Columbia Journalism Review. "Especially after all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for this cause."
"All I want is for my country to return to peace. I just wanted to show the world what was happening."
Source: Columbia Journalism Review
Esports titan Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf, 16
2019 was a huge year for 16-year-old E-sports star Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf.
In July, he won $3 million after winning the Fortnite World Cup final, beating 40 million players. Fortnite is the most popular video game in the world with more than 250 million registered players.
In November, he was named Esports PC Player of the Year at the 2019 Esports Awards, as well as winning the PC Rookie of the Year.
He also won Esports player of the year at the 2019 Game Awards.
Giersdorf has nearly 600,000 followers on Twitter, 1.3 million followers on Twitch, and 1.5 million followers on YouTube.
Actors and dancers Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler, 17 and 15
Maddie and Mckenzie Ziegler
Maddie Ziegler, 17, and sister Mackenzie, 15, are already taking the movie and music business by storm.
In the 2010s they found fame on the TV show "Dance Moms," but have since soared beyond that, gaining huge YouTube and Instagram followings.
In 2018, Maddie starred in the hit YouTube movie "Brat Holiday Spectacular" which was viewed 5 million times.
Maddie is one of "the two biggest female Gen Z stars," Evan Britton, founder of the website Famous Birthdays, told Business Insider's Nathan McAlone.
Maddie partnered with Kate Hudson's brand of athletic wear, Fabletitcs, in 2019, while Mackenzie forged a path in her own right, launching a line of ballet products .
Mackenzie was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category of "Choice Fashion/Beauty Web Star" in 2019, and won the Teen Choice Award for "Choice Muser" in 2018.
In the 2020s the pair look to go from strength to strength.
Maddie is already signed up to play the character of Velma in Steven Spielberg's upcoming 2020 adaption of the 1957 musical "West Side Story."
Mackenzie will headline the Disney Dance Upon a Dream tour from March 2020 in the US.
Actor Jahi Di'Allo Winston, 16
Jahi Di'Allo Winston attends the "Queen & Slim" Premiere at AFI FEST 2019 presented by Audi at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 14, 2019 in Hollywood, California. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Jahi Di'Allo Winston made his acting debut in 2015 and quickly rose to fame on Broadway as the young Simba in "The Lion King."
But since then he's starred in 2017's "The Upside" with Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman, as well as in 2018's "Proud Mary."
He is also the lead in Netflix's "Everything Sucks!"
Winston will start the 2020s with a bang, starring alongside "Get Out" actor Daniel Kaluuya in "Queen & Slim," directed by Melina Matsoukas, the director of Beyonce's "Formation" music video.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16
16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg unquestionably propelled climate change to the very top of the world news agenda after she began striking every Friday in August 2018 to demand climate action from world leaders.
Since that time she has campaigned relentlessly, ultimately delivering speeches to the United Nations Youth Climate Summit in New York and the UN Climate Action Summit.
In December, Thunberg was named TIME magazine's person of the year for 2019.
Thunberg's fame will likely grow, and her voice become louder, as climate issues remain prominent into the 2020s.
Read Insider's story of how Thunberg became the face of modern climate-change activism.
Also watch out for climate activists Melati, 18, and Isabel, 16, Wijsen in the next decade, too. The duo from Bali founded the Bye Bye Plastic Bags campaign, and aren't stopping there.
Track star Tamari Davis, 16
Tamari Davis set a world record for 15-year-olds in the 200 meter sprint distance in May 2018.
The US sprinter ran it in 22.48 seconds at a meet in Florida.
Davis has big plans for the 2020s, aiming right for the top, as well as planning to secure at spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She told Sports Illustrated that her goal is to go after two of the most revered records in athletic history: Florence Griffith-Joyner's 30-year-old 100 meters and 200 meters records.
"No one's been close," she said. "If I get it, that would be amazing."
Source: Sports Illustrated
Young scientist Rishab Jain, 15
In 2018, 13-year-old Rishab Jain launched an AI-based tool called PCDLS Net, that improves pancreas tracking during radiotherapy.
Pancreatic cancer survival rates are extremely low — around 9% for five years and around 1% for 10 years — and haven't improved significantly in the past 40 years.
Jain won the 2018 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, and America's Top Young Scientist 2018 for his work.
He only finished 8th grade in July.
Jain told Business Insider in 2018: "I've gotten to see first-hand some of my relatives who are doctors and how they can perform surgery or make other treatments that improve the quality of care and solve problems for people in need, so I'm thinking about becoming a surgeon and continuing medical research as I grow up."
The 2020s look bright for Jain, where he hopes to take his non-profit for children called, The Samyak Science Society, to the next level.
TikTok and music star Loren Gray, 17
At age 17, Loren Gray is the most-followed person on TikTok, with nearly 37 million fans.
She's hosted her own Snapchat show called "Glow Up" and has garnered nominations for her social media presence at the Teen Choice Awards and People's Choice Awards.
She has also been producing music since 2017, and most recently released the single "Can't Do It" in May.
He fame will likely increase in the 2020s, since TikTok was the world's most-downloaded app in late 2019.
Source: Business Insider
Political activist Marley Dias, 14
She started it in 2015 at the age of 11 to collect and donate 1,000 books to her peers that featured black girls as the main characters because she was "sick of reading about white boys and dogs."
The campaign was a massive success, and she's since been honored on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
In January 2018, she published a book to inspire other potential activists titled "Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!"
(The Insider)
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