Prom Dress Search Leads To Hostility On Social Media

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some girls dream about prom night and the perfect dress for years leading up to their senior year of high school, but picking out a beautiful dress is suddenly getting ugly with social media in the mix.

As CBS 2's Amy Dardashtian reported, finding the perfect prom dress can be a painstaking process all on its own. But two girls showing up in the same dress can be a total high school nightmare.

"No girl wants that," said Teresa Mandarin, a student at the Bronx High School of Science. "That's like social suicide."

For that reason, Mandarin was one of the first to post her dress to a Facebook group called, "Don't Steal My Prom Dress."

"It's really awkward, like – 'Oh my God, she's wearing my dress. Does she look better than me?'" she said.

The groups have been popping up online, with girls calling dibs on dresses.

They find a dress online and post a picture, along with a link and all the details about the dress.

But just like in the movie, "Mean Girls," some fashionistas have taken prom preparations to another level altogether.

"If anyone buys my dress and wears it to prom, you'll be dead," one girl tweeted.

"Don't steal my dress..or I mightt (sic) have to have your family murdered ;)" another tweeted.

"Prom 2013!!! steal my dress and I'll kill you lol!!! Jk" a third tweeted.

Psychologist Jeffrey Gardere said social media has opened a portal for some girls to bully.

"It's a club of other girls that they can talk to be a little more aggressive with, because they can't do it face-to-face," he said.

Some girls post pictures of their dresses straight from the store dressing room, and because competition has become so fierce, some stores have started tracking which dresses girls buy.

"They have the name of the high school and the person that's wearing it, and they register every Faviana gown," said Faviana chief executive officer Omid Moradi.

Some bicker about it.

"They were like, 'Well, I brought this dress so you can't wear it,' 'Well I brought this dress so you can't wear it,'" one student said.

Others said the groups can actually be helpful.

"I understand you want to be unique over prom, but it's just prom, not your life," a student said.

Students at the Bronx High School of Science said posts about prom dresses in their Facebook group are respectful and polite.

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