Falling on the day after Valentine’s, Singles Awareness Day allows those outside of romantic relationships to celebrate being single.
With social distancing and quarantining being commonplace during the pandemic, many singles have explored ways to seek less materialistic relationships and more emotional growth for the holiday.
“The last few years have been incredibly stressful for singles and it’s clearly made the desire for online connection – romantic or otherwise – all the more important,” dating expert Kate Maclean said in a statement.
“Whether singles are choosing to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a new crush or enjoying Singles Awareness Day with a group of friends, having a supportive community to connect with makes dating more fun and low pressure,” she said.
Singles Awareness Day was started by Dustin Barnes in 2001. It began with Barnes and his friends finding ways to enjoy being single rather than to focus on not having a date for Feb. 14.
One of those ways included getting candy for 50 per cent off from unsold Valentine’s Day products. Eventually the idea spread and is celebrated by teens and adults everywhere as a reminder you don’t need a relationship to celebrate love.
A recent survey conducted by the dating website Plenty of Fish, which surveyed 2,000 Gen Z and Millennials from Dec. 17 2021 to Jan. 4, 2022, showed that 23 per cent of participants were planning to spend Valentine’s Day hanging out with friends rather than worrying about a date.
For Georgetown resident Erin Mitterling, 29, Feb. 14 presents itself as a chance to focus on both relationships and personal care.
“I definitely think there is a strong inclination for people to either find themselves a date or partner to go out with or a group of close girlfriends,” Mitterling told Humber News.
“I think people have to practice more self-care and love towards themselves especially as a regular part of their mental health routine. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy or super costly either. What really matters is the intention behind it,” she said.
The same report from Plenty of Fish found that since March 2020, 67 per cent of those polled had more feelings of loneliness. In order to combat that, 77 per cent of them turned to online friendships.
The new term, Communidating, was coined by the dating site which refers to when people use dating apps to make connections beyond romantic ones.
Overall, 43 per cent of the polled participants think that Valentine’s Day should grow and evolve to include more forms of love and self-care, and Brampton resident Jazmine Webb, 20, agrees.
“If I were single, it would be about watching rom-coms and eating chocolate and not really worrying about a partner,” Webb said.
“The most important thing about Valentine’s Day though, as someone in a relationship, is just being able to spend the day with my boyfriend, but you also worry about making that person feel special,” she said.
The numbers from Plenty of Fish’s research indicate that, overall, people are willing to worry less about the pressures of relationships this time of year and explore more ways to find happiness.