A bit of wig adjustments, slipping into the outfit they’ve desperately saved up for, accompanied with the right accessories and makeup, a teen is ready for the event. Feeling excited and ready to socialize with others dressed as familiar characters.
Cosplaying can be overlooked and seen as weird at first but it is easily a no expectation and an accessible outlet for teens to dress up as characters they like. It has brought teens much joy no matter the occasion, creating social and mental benefits for them, providing a nice escape from their massive responsibilities.
Dressing up as a character someone appreciates can be freeing for teens as they have found comfort in cosplaying as characters they adore and connect with. According to Cityscape Counseling, dressing up as a fictional character can reduce anxiety and push a teen to be more social with peers, even though they don’t know the person they do know the character which gives them the want to interact with them.
School spirit weeks allow this effect too. Some teens love to dress for their school spirit week because it is elating to have a reason to not wear what they usually would and instead change up their style, if only for a week. It also makes teens constructive and more likely to enjoy school events and activities. According to The Connecticut Association of Schools, participating in spirit week produces positive emotions in students whilst making them more productive. The silly ideas encourage teens to dress up and come to school to show off their outfits for the theme of that day.
Truly, teenagers have a lot of responsibilities. According to Big Future, 80% of teenagers are in some form of extracurricular. On top of school they have to do homework, go to work, participate in clubs, compete in sports and do daily chores. Teens can easily become overwhelmed.
With all of these tasks and roles it’s easy for a teen’s mental health to crumble. They could become overly consumed with attempting to keep up the lifestyle they’re currently living. According to Clearfork Academy, the pressure to uphold expectations can easily shape a teens mind in the wrong ways due to trying not to let peers or guardians down and being worked to the bone.
Being able to step out of their life and into another’s is freeing. Teens deserve to feel free, to have a little distraction from all the work troubling them. Though it won’t take away all their daily worries, it is one way to communicate feelings in a way they weren’t able to do before.
