Lots of Love– or Marketing Madness?

Despite encouraging and celebrating love and romance, Valentine’s Day drags with it skepticism and controversy. Opinions on the holiday tend to range from “It’s all a glamorous scheme to make money” to “This day was made to celebrate love.” Either way, everyone seems to take a stance on it, and that’s why this year, the Crier is highlighting the opinions of students roaming the Conant hallways.

Crier Opinions Editors:

Sruthi Gurudev, Senior:

Valentine’s Day unites lovers and cynics alike, either reveling in saccharine declarations of love, or muttering about schemes and the silliness of frills and flowers. I, like many others, believe it’s an immensely successful but elaborate commercial scheme by our capitalist society to profit from pressured couples. Valentine’s Day, aside from its visual assault of a red-pink-white color scheme, does little to really strengthen a relationship. In my opinion, the holiday intends to pry open the pockets of consumers to the jaws of businesses wanting to make, ironically, a sweet deal. There does not have to be a single designated day to show your love, and rather than a holiday people take seriously, Valentine’s Day is more of a clichéd commercialization. However, it is a psychological and undoubtedly clever way to sway the masses and make millions. 

Anushka Shah, Sophomore:

I admit that Valentine’s Day can be seen as a convenient method for the chocolate, flower and card industries to take advantage of our emotional insecurities towards our significant others, but I think that Valentine’s Day holds more of a sentimental notion than that. The majority of people tend to have a very hectic and preoccupying day-to-day life, and in all the hustle we can forget to appreciate our “special someone” properly. As much as I would like to emphasize the importance of taking time out of the blue to show admiration to the person we love, it’s also nice to have a national bell reminding us to take some time to be with our plus one. This national “holiday” is advantageous for those people who forget to acknowledge others around them properly, and I think that’s much more significant than the economical impact.

Conant Students:

Jennifer Bolek, Senior:

“I think it’s overrated, because can’t you show your appreciation for your valentine on any other day? And I think it’s more special to show your affection out of the blue instead of having them expect something on February 14.”

Aarushi Shah, Junior:

“Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate the people you love in your life. However, I believe that this holiday has been blown out of proportion and has become more about finding dates and giving gifts than celebrating the love and the person. Instead of having only one day out of a year to celebrate love, I believe love and one’s significant other should be celebrated in small ways every day. It’s not about the chocolates or the jewelry, but showing appreciation to one another in small ways.”

Alekya Mallampalli, Sophomore:

“Valentine’s Day is a fun way to show love for your friends and family even though you don’t have a special someone in your life. However, it can be a waste of time and money. But the bright side is you get to spend time with people and get food and presents.”

These impressions are only some among a wide array of opinions about Valentine’s Day. What do you think? How do you feel about this national celebration of love? Is it an admissible holiday or just a capitalist tactic to improve the profits of multiple industries? Comment on the controversy below–let us know if you celebrate with love or if you grumble about Valentine’s Day’s capitalistic schemes.

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