system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: what is prom and why is it such a big deal in america.

As a german i don't really get the whole idea from what i see on the internet. Why is it such a big deal?
gpt
The United States does not have elaborate "rights of passage" ceremonies that other societies enjoy.  However, the "prom" serves many of these functions.  When you go, you are considered an adult with adult interests.  You wear adult clothes (formal clothes), drive an adult vehicle (a car), have a date like an adult and may drink alcohol like an adult (although most are too young to legally drink).

You might consider it the secular equivalent to the bat mitzvah, confirmation, etc and the cultural equivalent to the Quinceañera although focused on the peer group and not the individual.