With Valentine’s Day approaching students are thinking about relationships.
Social media often depicts single people as sad and lonely. This could be an especially difficult time for single people who feel as though they need to be in relationships to feel fulfilled.
“In ways it might make them feel sad for like a day, you can celebrate with like your friends,” said senior Lilia Costa.
With the prevalence of online media in the lives of students, the content they consume has the potential to largely influence their self-perception.
TV shows depicting high school students often have the main cast in relationships and, “creepy” side characters as single. Students on social media sites like Instagram and Snapchat have a constant feed of their peers in relationships.
Media rarely depicts being content with being single as a viable option for young people, which could lead them to believe they have to be in a relationship to compare with their peers.
“Absolutely, there are a lot of movies and shows where, where it’s kind of like, if you don’t have a girlfriend, you’re not the main character or something like that, or you’re not going to or your life is good, or you’re gonna be lonely forever. That definitely puts that enforcement on students to get a girlfriend or in a relationship,” said senior Bardia Golbad.
However societal views are being shifted towards a positive outlook on aromanticism with more single people finding themselves celebrating the holiday alongside friends and family.
Studies have shown that there may even be some benefits to not dating as a teenager.
“Non-dating students had similar or better interpersonal skills than their more frequently dating peers. While the scores of self-reported positive relationships with friends, at home, and at school did not differ between dating and non-dating peers, teachers rated the non-dating students significantly higher for social skills and leadership skills than their dating peers,” said Rebecca Ayer from, “Teens who don’t date are less depressed” published by the “University of Georgia.
Many of our students share the positive sentiment regarding the appreciation of single people.
“I mean, you could do the thing where you just like, you know, love yourself. It doesn’t have to be that you need to be in a relationship. You can still celebrate no matter what,” senior Bardia Golbad said.
Other students understand that to some it may be disappointing but do not believe the holiday has a massive impact on the students.
“I wouldn’t say it has a big impact on mental health but it does feel disappointing to be single on a day where couples usually celebrate, said senior Illani Gallop.
“I think that as someone gets older they are expected to have a wife or husband, but not everyone ends up with one. A person may feel worse about themselves just because they don’t have a significant other, but I don’t believe that society puts true pressure on people just because they don’t have that. I think that there are many ways that Valentine’s Day can be celebrated, even if you don’t have a partner. The day is just about love, and it recognizes couples but does not diminish those that are single,” Senior Lilia Costa said.
