If you find yourself thinking that Valentine\u2019s Day has become too commercialized, don\u2019t worry \u2014\u00a0 you are not alone.<\/p>\n
Nadine Cichy, a 35-year-old associate professor of Communication at Sinclair Community College, suggests the holiday has become too focused on the gifts we give and receive, as opposed to the love that should be shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpressing love and affection does not need to cost anything. It can be as simple as doing something for someone, or writing them a love letter. No chocolates necessary, though few people turn them down,\u201d Cichy said.<\/p>\n
Gavin Terrell, a 19-year-old Computer Software Development major, feels the holiday has earned too much focus, but as a bachelor, that\u2019s okay with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s blown out of proportion quite a bit, yes. And I also think that quite a few people that dislike it, dislike it for kind of silly reasons. They look too much into it. A lot of people call it \u2018National Single Awareness Day\u2019 \u2014 I call it \u2018National Free Candy Eve\u2019 because the next day everything is free almost,\u201d Terrell said.<\/p>\n
The statistics would seem to agree with Cichy and Terrell\u2019s opinions about the commercialized side of the holiday.<\/p>\n
According to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, in 2011 Valentine\u2019s Day accumulated $13.19 billion in revenue. As for the average consumer, they purchase $113.11 worth of merchandise, with cards accounting for 52.1 percent of all Valentine\u2019s Day purchases.<\/p>\n
With the immense amount of money that is dedicated to celebrating Feb. 14, is it fair to think that the holiday has lost some sight of what some would consider its traditional meaning, which is the celebration of love?<\/p>\n
Cichy still feels the holiday holds on to its values of adoration, while also noting that a person\u2019s religious values can be a factor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think how you feel about this issue depends on your religious affiliation.\u00a0 It was originally celebrated as the Feast of Saint Valentine.\u00a0 I think the modern interpretation, a day dedicated to love, serves the purpose pretty well.\u00a0 On the other hand, confusing love and money can be a dangerous thing,\u201d Cichy said.<\/p>\n
Expectations for the holiday
\ncan be influential<\/p>\n
Jessica Lawson, Communication instructor at Sinclair suggests that a person\u2019s expectations for Valentine\u2019s Day can play a major role in the way they communicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a day you like and you\u2019re in a relationship and your expectations have been met, then you likely are in a better mood, more patient with people, kinder to strangers, generous with friends and just a joy to be around,\u201d Lawson said. On the other hand, Lawson suggests that if Valentine\u2019s Day is a day you despise, whether it be because you are single, feel isolated by those engaging in public displays of affection or just disappointed that your expectations were not met, it will likely influence your communication. She refers to those with the negative attitude towards Valentine\u2019s Day to be \u201csnappy and short.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a self-fulfilling prophecy of what this day has to offer,\u201d Lawson said.<\/p>\n
Differences in generation<\/p>\n
Some may expect the generation gap to show in how we celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day, but students at Sinclair, no matter the age, have shown similarities when it comes to manners and giving gifts.<\/p>\n
Liberal Arts major Roberta Knodle, who is over 55, believes that manners and respect are vital.<\/p>\n
\u201cManners, respect and self-respect are essential,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A 40-year-old man who has been married for 15 years, still believes in chivalry.<\/p>\n
\u201cChivalry \u2014 the man\u2019s got to take the initiative and make the plans and cater honestly to the female,\u201d Michael Spencer, Cyber Investigation major said.<\/p>\n
Cristel Gonzalez, a 20-year-old Computer Information Systems major feels the same way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be V.I.P. because it is very traditional. It\u2019s what I am used to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
However, some may feel that everyday should be treated like it\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day should absolutely have a touch of that special day. Valentine\u2019s Day is just supposed to be [when] you do a little extra,\u201d Max Johnson, 22, Business Administration major said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you find yourself thinking that Valentine\u2019s Day has become too commercialized, don\u2019t worry \u2014\u00a0 you are not alone. Nadine Cichy, a 35-year-old associate professor of Communication at Sinclair Community College, suggests the holiday has become too focused on the gifts we give and receive, as opposed to the love that should be shared. \u201cExpressing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tartan-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-2ga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8690"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8694,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8690\/revisions\/8694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}