Through festive, jolly, thankful, spooky, and many more, people love holidays. Millions of people on one day celebrate in similar or different ways. One super special holiday that is controversial, with a range from wholesome to naughty, is Valentines Day. The special day is on the 14th of February every year, where people come together to celebrate… well, love. This pagan rooted holiday can be traced back to hundreds of years ago in Roman times to honor two men named Valentine (colloquially smooshed together as one St. Valentine) who were murdered. You would think that the holiday surrounding death wouldn't be commercially marked as celebrating those you love and yet it is. One very interesting segment of these celebrations is the side which is like vampires; those whose emotions are heightened, never sleep, and feast off of others' demises. If you didn't guess already, this oh so wonderful breed of human are teenagers. In high school, everybody wants to know who's dating who, the latest gossip, on and on and on. A holiday that for many people is the loving celebration of two people who just adore each other turns into utter chaos around this time of year with teenagers. Hearts get broken, secrets spilled, cheap adolescent dates get ruined, and so many tears are shed. Now this is my favorite side of Valentine's day, the one that isn't on candy boxes or used as a sale tactic, but is just utter chaos: Dramamama Teenage “Love” Day.
Many teenagers around this age and especially in this generation are inundated with so much media that brainwashes them overnight like insane littell hypnosis minions. These teenage weapons are practically bred by companies like Meta and ByteDance to be projected walking billboards and insecurities. In this day and age, social media seems like a utopia of perfect people which makes everybody else, specifically those with still-developing brains, seem like they're doing something wrong. This expectation versus reality syndrome will always follow these kids into day to day life and creep into their any and every move. That is why my thesis for why V-Day is always so heightened and chaotic for these teenagers is because of the presence of social media and Hollywood makes them feel lesser than.
During Valentine's season, whether single or taken, many turn to the occult classic genre of movies: rom-coms. These beautifully crafted films are almost always a joy to watch, even if they are horrid and hard to watch or oscar-worthy masterpieces, they all still inspire happiness when you watch them. Even so, there is something bubbling underneath the surface that you don't see as it is happening, the “expectation” poisoning. When watching movies like these we see perfect love with couples getting back together right at the crucial ending, dramatic kissing in the rain, and giving grand gestures of playing a boombox outside their girl's window; literally everything straight out of a modern day fairytale. Then after watching these movies, with the stars so relatable we think we could be them, everything in it seems achievable. But with social media and commercialization, everything being fake and just for the purpose of being sold to someone, is this rom-com type love real? Or is it just capitalism? With interviewing the ones affected most by this illusion, teenagers, we will find out together, added with the heightened anticipation of the interviews being on V-Day itself.
For this article I interviewed two 16 year old high school students, one male, one female, all anonymous. For comparison purposes I believe that it is important to note the difference in responses between both genders. It is also important to remember that the two people interviewed have very different past love lives. For reference, the female interviewee hasn't been in any past relationships while the male interviewee has been in multiple harmful relationships. The questions and answers are as follows.
How do you feel like romance on screen is different from real life?”
Female Interviewee -- “I feel like [on screen] it's always very predictable with the smooth sailing, the big dilemma, and then the happy ending. It sets up these expectations that we really don’t see in society where many people think it’s cool to be “nonchalant” rather than be expressive and romantic”
Male Interviewee -- “Romance over a screen is fake, because you are only showcasing the perfect side of yourself, which leads to you feeling like you have to be the perfect guy. In the end, this leads to insecurity and needing validation from others. You should only seek validation from yourself”.
How do you feel when you see teenage couples at school or out and about?
For this question, the difference between the two peoples answers are shocking and laughable in length, which makes sense due to their stereotypes.
Female Interviewee -- “Whenever I see teenage couples, I usually feel this longing to be in a relationship as well. I know that teenage relationships are typically messy and stressful but the romanticized idea of teenage relationships in my head from videos online make me really wish I could experience it. Looking at them, it also makes me wonder if I’m ever going to be in that position and how I would ever manage to be in one”
Male Interviewee -- “A tad jealous, but for a few seconds if it’s my friend with his girlfriend”
During Valentine’s Day season do you feel like you’re being sold something instead of experiencing a real celebration of love?
It's interesting to point out how this question is where both interviewees finally segway dramatically in their responses.
Female Interviewee -- “Yes. We’re getting sold this idea of “love” so that big companies can profit off of us buying their stuff!! Real celebrations of love aren’t just in materialistic things but Valentine’s Day also kinda makes people feel pressured to show their “love” and I feel like it doesn’t truly come from the heart”
Male Interviewee -- “No. Valentines is a beautiful excuse for affection without being a weirdo and if you think it’s commercial that’s just jealousy ”
Does the influx of social media relationships make you feel that teenage love is less or more possible for people your age?
Female Interviewee -- “With the amount of social media relationships it makes sense that it would make it feel more possible for people our age but honestly it still feels pretty far out of reach because of how many things are “fake” online ”
Male Interviewee -- “Social media makes love less possible because of seeking validation and using a girlfriend or boyfriend for likes”
With the majority answers to the questions, even through all different demographics of gender and past relationship status, proves my thesis that Valentine's Day is less than a celebration of love and more of Hollywood, social media, and businesses, capitalizing teenagers. There are many relationships, whether in a rom-com or on a Instagram reel, advertised to teenagers that make it seem like a love like that is possible but in real life it is much harder than that. Like I've been saying, emotions are much more heightened during Valentine's Day, even if you're in a relationship or single. And even though all of these buy-ins and manipulation coming at everyone left and right can blind a person about their opinions on love, everyone, especially teenagers, shouldn't give up hope. Though love may seem impossible when compared to the movies, it isn't. It will be slower and less climatic and without a cheesy soundtrack, but it will be worth it. Even if that isn't what Valentine's Day is made out to be, we can all change the narrative and instead of pointing out everything that's wrong with this day, we can just celebrate love. Wherever this love is in the form of a friend, sibling, parent, or significant other, we have to cherish it, hold onto it, and celebrate it as much as we can.
So, if you need a critique, there is someone you can call, because I am always watching over Hollywood like a hawk wearing Harry Winston.
Xoxo,
The Angeles Watcher
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