People are missing the point of Valentine’s Day

Chocolates, flowers and fancy restaurants. 

Every Valentine’s Day, social media feeds get swarmed with posts showing off the grand gesture their significant other pulled off for them, or a romantic surprise they prepared. 

However, the point of Valentine’s Day is to further strengthen a genuine bond between two people. But its current status, centered around a culture of materialism and a desire for public validation, is a complete perversion of its ideals. 

The cliche Valentine’s Day date — a private, romantic dinner — has become more focused on the numerical rather than qualitative value. Sure, a dinner reservation at an expensive restaurant attempts to show appreciation through magnitude  — but all it really requires is a free evening and a loaded wallet. 

Instead, cooking dinner with your significant other is a much more enriching experience. You get to spend time together and create lasting memories, which is what Valentine’s Day is all about.

Posting one’s special day on social media only makes matters worse. The day is meant to be a special celebration between partners. Posting your experiences on social media merely aims to seek validation from outsiders. It’s turned from a personal day to a stressful, public competition to see who has the most perfect relationship.

Seeing the state Valentine’s day has fallen to, businesses have seized the opportunity to advertise their products as the ultimate declaration  of love. People seeking to prove their affection fall into this trap, buying these meaningless products. 

If you do decide on giving a gift, find one with sentimental value. A token memorializing a certain experience with your partner  showing how much you really care about them would work perfectly. While buying something fancy and expensive is impressive in the short-term, gifting them something that has meaning shows just how much you truly value your relationship. 

This Valentine’s day, bring back what the day was meant to be: A night with someone special, free from external distractions and judgments. Cook dinner together, go on a drive or watch a movie — it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to create truly valuable memories.