A surprising move towards new fashion choices, such as child-like backpacks, has made a big wave among seniors across the country and at our own school. Backpacks with children’s shows on the back have been popping up all over schools, and it has caught on like wildfire throughout high schools, causing many people to start purchasing them for themselves.
The trend began to gain traction on social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram when teens would post pictures and videos with brightly colored cartoon type and small backpacks that usually belong in an elementary school or a middle school setting. People have been asking why seniors are choosing to wear backpacks that were made for children.
“As a senior it is my one last year at oakmont and being a highschooler so at this point I don’t really care and I saw people online doing it so I saw it in a store for 15 dollars and I bought it, and it’s batman and batman is my favorite character and I feel that it represents me,” said senior Josh Bedard.
Many seniors, such as him, are wearing it as a nostalgic and ironic statement for other people to see and for it to be something funny and not taken seriously. Some people also say that it’s more convenient because they don’t have to drag around a large backpack when a smaller one can hold the same things they would need, just with less size.
Another quote from a student at Oakmont, Kaden Ludwick, “I saw it in Walmart and I was like yo I mess with that so I just bought it.” This also shows that some students also just like the look of them, and it might fit their aesthetic.
While some schools don’t care about the students wearing such backpacks, some schools care a lot more about them because they are said to be possibly distracting and that they could be bad for the classroom environment, although some feel that way, many teachers believe that it’s a very good and harmless way of expressing themselves, and believe that it’s fun
Another quote from a teacher, Mr. Billings, at Oakmont, “I think they are harmless fun. I like backpacks, and when I was a student, nobody had an unusual backpack, but I think these are cool.” This is proof from a teacher himself that they don’t see them as an issue and that, more than anything, they are just a fun, small tradition to go out of your senior year with.
What started as a fun social media trend has evolved into a trend among seniors; it’s brought together nostalgia and style. Whether the trend would last beyond this current school year remains to be a mystery, but for now, these senior backpacks are going strong as a trendy fashion choice and tradition.
