Op-Ed: Is Valentine’s Day overhyped or just over-romanticized?
With the season of love blooming around us, one question arises: Is Valentine’s Day overhyped or over-romanticized?
The moment New Year’s Day passes, Valentine’s decorations seem to appear overnight. People go above and beyond to find a partner—or to ask their established partner to be their Valentine—with extravagant ideas and grand gestures.
Valentine’s Day feels less overhyped and more over-romanticized. Everything suddenly seems more romantic because it’s the so-called season of love—not to be confused with “Seasons of Love” from the Tony Award-winning musical “Rent.” From flowers and chocolates to elaborate proposals and sweeping displays of affection, the holiday amplifies expectations of what love should look like.
For couples, Valentine’s Day is often a favorite holiday because it gives them a reason to be unapologetically over-the-top with their love languages. It becomes an opportunity to show appreciation in visible—and often elaborate—ways.
We often hear the phrase, “looks like someone’s been shot by Cupid’s arrow,” to describe intense attraction. That image is tied not only to feelings for a special someone but also to every romantic-comedy cliché that everyone—not just women—falls for. These portrayals blur the line between expectations and reality in relationships.
Each year, couples seem determined to showcase their relationship by recreating a romantic-comedy moment or by competing to be the cheesiest couple in their friend group, whether those friends are single or taken. While these gestures can be playful, they can also start to feel performative.
Social media plays a major role in this cheesiness, exaggerating public displays of affection for an audience—unless, of course, you’re Maya and Hunter, the undisputed “couple goals” of the internet.
While many online displays cause secondhand embarrassment, I make an exception for Maya and Hunter. Otherwise, I look to fictional couples for inspiration: Lara Jean and Peter from “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” or Westley and Princess Buttercup from the 1987 film “The Princess Bride.”
Romantic comedies are among the most-watched films in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. Whether single or in a relationship, people crave the warm, fuzzy feeling these movies deliver as the main couple inevitably finds their way to each other.
Another reason Valentine’s Day feels over-romanticized is the soundtrack that comes with it. Love songs flood playlists everywhere. “The Art of Loving” by Olivia Dean, for example, stands out as one of the strongest romantic albums released in the past year, offering a more nuanced portrayal of love beyond cliché sentimentality.
There are timeless classics like “My Girl” by The Temptations or practically any Stevie Wonder song, alongside modern favorites like “Bubbly” and “Lucky” by Colbie Caillat—songs that couples replay year after year to swoon a little harder.
And for the single or heartbroken readers, don’t worry—there are anthems for us too. “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé and “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye are perfect for scream-singing at the top of our lungs while still enjoying the love songs that make us feel the kind of love we’re either happily in or hoping to find someday.
So, I’ll leave you with the same question: Is Valentine’s Day overhyped, or simply over-romanticized? I’ve shared my thoughts, but now I open the floor to yours.
As Rhiannon had done journalism in the past for her high school. She hopes to continue that path through the Collegian.
