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Just a Table for Two

Posted at: February  5, 2014 2:42 p.m.
by Addison Viani

Remember when Valentine’s Day meant a classroom filled with pink and red decorations, heart-shaped cupcakes and tiny cards with cartoons? Remember when it was a day all about flowers, chocolates and dinner reservations in an overcrowded restaurant?

You may still associate Valentine’s Day with a lot of these things, but the power of social media has made it so much more. Looking past the clichés, Valentine’s Day has taken a turn for the worse because of social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the ones to blame.

Out of all the major holidays, many would agree that Valentine’s Day should be the most personal and private. Unfortunately, it has turned into quite the opposite. Valentine’s Day used to be shared between two people, but social media has allowed it to be shared with hundreds of your closest Facebook friends, Instagram likers and Twitter followers.

Facebook users have the ability to update followers about what they’re doing, whom they are with and where they are all within a few seconds.

A picture can be snapped and uploaded to Facebook before the candlelit dinner even starts. The intimate dinner date for two has instantly turned into a dinner in the company of comments, likes and retweets by friends, parents and Aunt Sue down in Boca.

While family and close friends may enjoy the upload, the rest of the followers may not have the same idea. No matter how you look at it, social media sites have become an easy motive to turn a love-filled holiday into a contest of comparisons.

As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and at times, social media sites can be the fuel to this fire. Whether single, in a relationship or happily married for 25 years, we fall into the comparison trap, especially on Valentine’s Day.

If this holiday is about showing love to one another, we should be mindful of the message we send out on social media. So before you log on and upload those beautiful red roses along with the 1993 Italian Chianti, ask yourself — will all my friends benefit from seeing this picture? If so, go for it! If not, put down the phone and enjoy a glass of wine with your valentine.

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