I just don’t get it… Why is that important, especially for kids now, that feel like they need to do a YouTube video asking for a date or doing some meme stuff. Some teens even hire the hottest celebrity or ask them to appear in their prom? This is so bizarre for me, all that just for a frivolous night.
In my country prom was a thing but nowhere near as theatrical, I didn’t went to either my prom trip or the party. Also skipped half of my middle school trips.
It’s an important social event for teenagers. It affords a time for teens to dress up and look extra nice and make some coming of adult age decisions like asking your crush to dance, abstaining from peer pressure, etc.
It’s an event for teens to be feel special, have fun and to exercise self control. College comes quickly after and a lot of them are studying for finals and so on so it’s a good way to blow off steam.
Ultimately, just another cultural implementation. Other countries have similar events I can only imagine