A few years ago I wrote a post about the commericalisation of the Christmas and how the fundamental context has evolved significantly over the past decade to a marketing scheme targeted at the hip pockets of believers. I argued that primarily most of us have forgotten entirely the pure meaning of Christmas and paid into the thriving economical force of retail. (See more)

Last night as I scrolled through my Facebook/Instagram/Twitter feeds I came to a conclusion – Valentine’s Day has also fallen into this niche. Update after update, post after post, all I was viewing were pictures of Valentine’s Day gifts and dates.

The central problem that I have with this is based around the intercontextual meaning of the posts. If I were to deconstruct these posts into meaning then I would arrive at something like this: #MyBoyfriendIsBetterThanYours #LuckyGirl #Haha. And I actually do not like it.

Further analysis of Valentine’s Day inspired posts reveal that they are almost entirely created by women. Because the 21^st Century purpose of Valentine’s Day is for your partner or secret admirer to send you a gift or roses as a symbol of their admiration. 

What exactly is the message here? I believe that it is really summed up by my own Facebook post:

Moreover,

Is my relationship still going well if I don’t upload my picture of the flowers that I got for Valentine’s Day? [Tweet this!]

The worst part about these jealously provoking posts is what they do consequentially to those outside of the initial couple. Not surprisingly single women would be the most affected by the continual uploads of #ImSpoilt posts. As these uploads do nothing else but help to create insecurity for women about still being single. #NaNaNaNA!

On the other hand, men in relationships now feel the pressure to compete with their mates in showing their appreciation for their partner. If they don’t buy flowers and gifts, they look like they don’t love their partner as much as ‘her friend’s boyfriends do.’ 

Whatever happened to just calling your girlfriend to tell them that you love them? [Tweet this!]

Let’s be honest, Valentine’s Day is just another day on the calendar. The commercial world makes it a marketable event where bookings for restaurants and cost of flowers significantly increase. So much so that you could almost mistake it for Christmas.

Do not get me wrong I am not the Valentine’s Day Grinch. I actually enjoy the day myself and as my birthday is two days prior, I like to use it as an opportunity to take my Valentine out. As a result, I end up being the gift giver thus taking in the traditional role of the 21st Century Valentine’s male.

As yesterdays posting of Valentine’s Day gifts and flowers were increasing online, I was left thinking about my girlfriends who were feeling quite deflated by the enormous exhibitionists on Social Media. This resulted in me sending 23 text messages to Telstra’s Billboard of Love to receive a picture, so my friends without Valentines wouldn’t feel unloved.

I believe that the increase in broadcasted Valentine’s Day is in part due to the development of useable Social Media and the response of the Millennials. Millennials are supporters of foreign celebrations and fear of being left out far outweighs the traditional meaning of the events. We want to be involved, at any cost.

When I was a teenager, the thought of getting a secret Valentine was some of the happiest memories of the high school year. I would argue that at this point in life, it was the girls that are much more involved in the creation and production of Valentine gifts. Teenage boys tend not to care either way.

So how did it all change from the cute cards with hearts and bubble writing to the over commericalised Social Media postings of the current day?

I believe we create the world in which we exist. And Valentine’s Day is just another example of the competitive nature of man. And without this competition the world would become laxidasical. But then again, this is a direct conflict with the objective behind handing out participation medals in school. 

~Mango
“Develop yourself by your own set of morals, not by comparison of those around you.” [Tweet this!]