Valentine’s Day should focus more on platonic relationships rather than romantic relationships.

Many people believe this day is exclusively for couples in love to go to fancy dinners. This could be because people see more Valentine’s Day advertisements and posts on social media revolving around couples rather than groups of friends.

However, Valentine’s Day is slowly becoming more inclusive to people celebrating friendship and self-love.

People who are single can interpret Valentine’s Day to be about love in general, not just romantic love, said Mark B. Borg, Jr., a clinical/community psychologist and psychoanalyst based in New York City.

Tina B. Tessina, an author and psychotherapist based in southern California, said she believes this change could be because people are becoming more bold and confident.

“People who are not coupled are more assertive than they used to be, and they’re deciding that they can celebrate Valentine’s Day as groups of single friends or even by themselves,” said Tessina.

This could be attributed to expectations in romantic relationships being harder to meet than in friendships.

“Much of what determines our satisfaction in romantic relationships is how our outcomes compare to our expectations,” said Denise Marigold, associate professor and chair of social development studies at the University of Waterloo.

By celebrating the holiday with friends, people don’t have to worry about wearing the perfect outfit, spending an excess amount of money or thinking of unique gift ideas. Often, couples turn Valentine’s Day into an attempt to ‘prove’ how much they love each other. But, that’s not an issue when celebrating it with friends.

In fact, friendship enriches and improves people’s lives. It can increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost your happiness and reduce your stress, improve your self-confidence and self-worth, help you cope with traumas, and encourage you to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Hence, the power and love of friendship deserves to be celebrated with the same fervor as romantic love in recognition of these countless benefits as it is important to express your love and gratitude in relationships.

“Keeping love alive and flowing in your relationships and friendships is essential to being happy,” Tessina said.

She recommends setting aside your reluctance, letting your friends know when you feel loved, and appreciating your friends’ efforts to love you. And, what better day is there to accomplish this than Valentine’s Day?

Jenna Wirth is a sophomore studying magazine journalism. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at jwirth@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter at @jenna__wirth.

Published on February 16, 2020 at 9:10 pm