From the era when our parents were teens to the 21st century, prom has changed dramatically. Popularity contests like prom king and queen have almost vanished, arriving with a date has changed to acceptance of going with a group of friends, and prices have increased exponentially.
How prom culture has changed
Prom has had an overall culture shift — it’s loosened up. Andee Stacey, a mother of a senior at U-High, said her prom was more of a popularity contest.
“ I think it was taken way more seriously when I was a kid,” Ms. Stacey said. “People were really focused more on how you looked and who you knew. And I mean, of course, that’s always been important, but I think now it seems more like it’s just a big party, and people go and have fun. It used to be more formal and more stuffy, if you will.”
Rising costs
A large part of prom is the extravagance and the originality of one’s appearance, from buying niche prom dresses to avoid matching with someone else, to the production of getting ready with glamorous hair and makeup, to the pre- and post-parties.
Senior Juliana Walker is aware of the big change regarding the cost of prom from when her mother attended prom to now.
“My mom’s prom was a little bit more tailored to her in terms of the prom dresses they wore,” Juliana said. “She made her prom dress with her mom. And the send off was a bigger thing than I think it is now.”
Just to participate in prom means large increase in the expense of all the aspects a person needs to prepare for any event.
“ There’s an increase in cost terms of the other stuff of getting ready. Like, you’re getting your hair done, getting your makeup done, and all the other things that come with that,” she said. “And I also think that there’s also the addition of having the production of, like, the sendoff and the pictures and the music and the family and the parties before.”
One reason prom is more expensive right now could be due to an increase in global prices, senior Leila Rezania said.
“I feel like the prices now are definitely higher than they used to be because the price of everything is more expensive than it used to be,” she said. “I also feel like people value more expensive things than they used to.”
Apart from the cost of the look, Juliana said that while her mother only had to pay $25 for her prom tickets, her brother, who went to a different school just a few years ago, had to pay more than $300. Even last year at U-High, prom tickets were $118, which included a catered dinner.
Dates vs. hanging out with friends
The pressure to get a date for prom in 2025 has eased in many ways, and students now feel comfortable just going with a group of friends, rather than scrambling to “prom-pose” to someone. This is a more recent change — even just 10 years ago, students at U-High didn’t share this sentiment.
“When my older sisters were in high school, I felt like it seemed there was a lot more emphasis on doing, on like everyone doing proposals and everyone having a prom date,” said senior Ava Cohen, whose older sister graduated from U-High in 2016, “and people would like specifically partner up with their friends, whereas I feel like now I’ve seen more of a shift toward going in larger like groups”
Ava says that now, without the pressure of every guy and girl having to pair up, prom has become less heteronormative, allowing different pairings and groupings to be more common.
Senior Christian Martinez feels there is still some pressure to get a date to prom but doesn’t let that stop him from looking at prom as a way to have fun with his friends for one of the last times.
“I feel like for me, I’m more or less indifferent to the pressure in the sense that I’d rather go and spend that night with, like, my friends,” he said, “especially because that’s gonna be our last big time we get to hang out all together.”
Pop culture vs. real life
Media and pop culture tend to portray prom as the biggest event in some teens’ lives, but at U-High, the dance tends to be just a celebration of the culmination of high school.
“I think prom culture in movies and TV shows is shown as the pinnacle of high school,” senior Hana Javed said, “and that’s not really like reality. Here at Lab, it’s really like any other dance, just a little nicer. There’s not a lot of pressure to buy the most expensive dress or to get a date like you see in media.”
Hana feels that prom depictions in movies is more exaggerated than how it is in reality.
“In ’80s movies, prom is clearly for the popular people who get to go to prom, and only they have the good time,” Hana said. “But the kids with glasses who are ‘locked in’ only get to go because of their character arc. But now it’s way more inclusive with no pressure for a date and more open dating with a traditionalist attitude.”
