Dawson casting


Dawson casting is an observed cultural phenomenon and movie trope in film and television where many of the actors appear, and in reality are, much older than the characters they are portraying. The concept is observable in teen dramas such as Glee, Gossip Girl, and Pretty Little Liars where grown adults are cast to play teenage characters. Derry Girls is a non-U.S. example of Dawson casting of teenage characters. The term was originally circulated on the Internet in response to the casting choices in Dawson's Creek.

Social ramifications

It has been suggested on several occasions by critics that Dawson casting has several negative implications, specifically for adolescents. These commonly include accusations of unrealistic beauty standards, negative body image, low self-esteem, and general mental health problems, especially in regard to one's self-perception.
A clinical psychologist, Barbara Greenberg, told Teen Vogue that casting twenty-year-old actors for the roles of high-school students can worsen the struggles of adolescents, stating "It can give the message that they’re supposed to look good all the time" adding "That leads to all kinds of body-image and social-comparison issues".