Prom: the day that high school juniors and seniors wait the whole year for.  The movies make prom seem like a glorious, magical time in a person’s life.  An event in which he or she can look back on years later with fond memories.  Therefore, students go to the extreme in order to make prom the perfect night that they will never forget.

Many teens put plenty of thought and money into the way they ask a date to prom.  It’s common to see what is known as the “promposal” all across social media as the month of prom comes around.  Whether it be “PROM?” spelled out in rose petals, or a big, flashy sign with an ingeniously personal phrase on it, high school students always make sure the whole school knows exactly who they’ll be escorting to prom.

According to an article entitled “A Short History of the ‘Promposal,’” from The Washington Post, the newspaper reported the first promposal took place in 2001 in the Dallas Morning News.  Ever since then, the fad has only spread and grown with time.

It seems that teens mainly participate in this grandiose ritual for the picture so they can post it on social media and get a reaction from their peers.  Many schools have ways that students can vote on promposal pictures and the “cutest” or “most romantic” one will win both a prize, along with some sort of desired approval from the rest of the school.

Prom was meant for high school students to end the year with the people that they care about.  It seems as though promposals are done more for the publicity of couples rather than doing something nice for someone you care about.  When the whole school knows how a student asked their date to prom, it can make the gesture less special than if the person did it just for that one person to see.

According to an article by USA Today called “‘Promposals’ becoming an expected part of high school,” it creates the unrealistic standard that if one is to ask someone to prom, they have to go big or go home.

It also puts pressure on teens to publicly agree to go to prom with someone they don’t really want to go with because it would be embarrassing for both people if they said no in front of so many people.  Thus, the person then has to say no later on, defeating the whole purpose of the promposal.

This exaggerated way of asking people to prom has both its perks and its downfalls.  However, the pressure and preparation that many put into the promposal can tend to be a bit much and can be more obnoxious than romantic.