As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of Halloween, I can put aside my own personal bias and admit that it really is an exceptional concept. Children can use their imagination and creativity to partake in plain fun, often surrounded by friends and/or family to keep them both safe and entertained. And while I do believe that adults deserve to partake in the nostalgia and creativity of it as well, there is an argument to be made towards extreme adult commercialization and the influence of social media’s negative impact on younger generations, over something as simple as a holiday.
The negative impacts social media has on kids as young as 9 years old have been extensively studied and debated. The overall consensus is that unmonitored, kids will be negatively impacted either behaviorally or emotionally. It makes them socially conscious–almost to an unhealthy extent. So when you put the pressure of real-life on top of the possibility of being filmed or judged on social media for all to see, the imaginary risk is much higher than the reward. This pressure, on top of searching for a costume among all the ones for adults and disregarding their own interests that may be too “niche” or unpopular, just makes Halloween a chore rather than a harmless experience.
Circling back to how adults impact children’s view of Halloween, it is important to take into account that Halloween really always has been harrowing towards an adult-leaning holiday. According to Industry News Outlet Firework, the highest percentage of the 69% of Americans who participate in Halloween is those aged 18-34; these numbers have proven increasingly true since 2022.
This is not to blame adults or social media for children simply not wanting to go out for Halloween; 9-year-old Althea also did not really see the appeal in walking in a cold neighborhood at night asking for candy. This is simply to show that times are always changing, sometimes in ways that are so slow and steady you won’t realize until there’s a group of 30-year-olds ringing your doorbell asking for Hershey’s.
