Ethan Anderson
LV Life Editor
Is Valentine’s Day truly designed for people to celebrate their love for one another, or is it just another consumer cash grab?
Twenty-six University of La Verne students were asked this question, 19 of whom believe Valentine’s Day is a consumer cash grab.
For those who prefer statistics, only 27% of surveyed students believe Valentine’s Day is truly about celebrating platonic and romantic love, leaving a large majority of 73% believing the holiday is a consumer cash grab.
The origins of Valentine’s Day are not fully clear. According to History.com, historians do know that the legend of St. Valentine is heavily involved. The Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend from ancient Rome states that Valentine was a priest who served in third-century Rome. Emperor Claudius II decided young men should be training for war and were better suited to be soldiers than husbands and fathers. Marriage was outlawed, and Valentine, seeing the injustice, decided to perform marriages for young couples in secret.
How did Valentine’s Day transform from this cultural celebration of love to what it is today?
“To show how much you ‘care,’ you need to buy this much chocolate, buy this many roses, and go to the nicer restaurant,” assistant professor of economics Ryan Lee said. “It puts undue pressure on the relationship.”
In today’s world, people constantly flaunt their relationships on social media and post what their partner got them for Valentine’s Day.
“There’s pressure because you want to do the most for your partner and outdo others,” sophomore criminology major Penny Macon said. “On social media, we post what our partners get us, and it becomes a competition.”
Though this may have pure intentions, it ultimately adds pressure on partners to be able to match that and go as big—or risk seeming like they don’t care as much.
“My partner’s little sister just broke up with her boyfriend, and she’s been begging us to buy her things just so she can post that she got Valentine’s gifts,” junior rhetoric and communications major Hector Solorzano said. “It’s unfortunately shallow, but that’s what kids are being taught through social media.”
The rise of social media marketing and the fact that many young people are chronically online inadvertently develop materialistic mindsets where people compare their relationships.
Interestingly, of the seven students who answered “for love,” only two are in relationships. Can they be feeling the effects that capitalism has on Valentine’s Day and even their relationships?
“I think (Valentine’s Day) has good intentions, but with how society operates and how people view it, there is a consumerist aspect to it,” sophomore political science major Evan Lions said. “I think it really depends on couples.”
Others in relationships see the value in having a special day for love to be shared and celebrated.
“I think it’s pretty cool to have Feb. 14. Long-term relationships can get dull at times, and the day is an opportunity to spark back up that love,” senior kinesiology major Ivan Sosa said.
Corporations will always look for and find ways to capitalize on the emotions surrounding holidays. What’s important is that people are educated on seasonal marketing and sales strategies and do not let that pressure hurt their relationships.
Despite the overall pessimistic attitude on campus toward Valentine’s Day, it is how it’s perceived that either makes it a day of platonic and romantic love—or a day of comparison and heartbreak.
Ethan Anderson can be reached at ethan.anderson@laverne.edu.
Ethan Anderson is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. He is the LV Life editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times, and a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine. He has previously been a staff writer for the Campus Times. As a lifelong student-athlete, he has picked up valuable skills that he seeks to apply in his career in public relations, and ultimately make an impact.
