Since the beginning of freshman year, so many people look forward to the senior prom. It is all about the dresses, the dancing, the date, and now, how you get asked. Promposals are the new thing for high school students. Getting asked, or asking someone to prom, has gone from a simple question and maybe some flowers to posters, gifts and covert planning. The promposal is almost as important as the actual prom now.

Jim Thomas, a teacher at Westwood High School, said “It is a big deal, but it is a bigger deal when you ask someone you don’t know that well. when I was in high school a group of girls told me that someone wanted me to ask them, so I just went up and asked them.”

It is also much different to ask someone that you barely know rather than a partner, or close friend. Jamie Lynch,  an English teacher at Westwood High School, said, “I had been dating this guy for over a year, so I just told him prom was coming up and we were going together.”

Nowadays asking someone to prom is a lot less simple. Griffin Masse, a senior at Westwood High school, said, “I am going to prompose. Last year for semi I made a poster, but this year I’m gonna mix it up and do something different.” Usually promposals consist of a poster with something personal on it, that is sometimes accompanied with a gift or item that has to do with what the poster is about.  Puns and wordplay are usually common on these posters.

Kevin Santiago, another senior at Westwood High School, said, “If I were to ask someone to prom, I would probably do something typical like make a poster.”

It has become such a big deal that people feel left out if they don’t get asked with a big gesture. Laura Davino, a senior at Westwood High School, said, “If I get asked without a promposal I wouldn’t be mad or upset, and I’d say yes, but I would feel left out because everyone does it.”

There are a lot of different opinions on why promposals are so popular now.  Thomas said, “I think social media has played a big role in the popularity of asking someone to prom in a big way, it’s almost like a competition to see who can get more likes and who is the most creative.”  Today, social media controls everything young people do; promposing is no different. Lynch’s view on the importance of these promposals is a little different: “I think it is popular because it is a big financial expense for teens, and if you don’t get asked you are missing out.”

Promposals have become even as big as the prom itself.  If you are planning on asking someone, you might want to put some solid thought into it. It matters to the person being asked just as much as it matters to the person asking.