Think of it as “Say Yes to the Dress” meets “Facebook”. Prom season is quickly approaching and hundreds, dare say thousands, of high school seniors are dress shopping. But unlike the days before social media, today the season starts with the creation of the “Prom Group” on Facebook for the solitary purpose of housing photos of the chosen dress wear. This way, high school seniors can hopefully avoid that awkward moment when they walk into prom only to find out that their best friend is wearing the same exact dress.

OK, logical I suppose, but what are the most appropriate rules for the group? For example, can a girl post a dress she is “probably” going to buy? I suppose this is conceptually appropriate since it accomplishes the same goal of avoiding that awkward moment. But, what if she doesn’t buy the dress and that “reservation” keeps someone else from making the purchase? Is that right?

How about buying the same dress as someone else but in a different color? And, do you ask before buying?

Never, in my wildest dreams, could I have anticipated the protocol around the prom dress purchase.