Valentine’s Day is often seen as a love-filled holiday, but for many people, it can feel more like a stressful, lonely, and environmentally harmful tradition. What was once a holiday for love turned into a competition for who could get the best gift or buy the biggest box of chocolates. In the end, Valentine’s Day doesn’t build love; it damages relationships, reminds single people of what they don’t have and destroys the environment.

To start, this dreadful holiday shames people who aren’t in a relationship, spreading more loneliness and anxiety rather than the love it’s supposed to promote. If you’re single and annoyed, you’re not alone. In fact, 64 percent of U.S. teenagers have never been in a romantic relationship, according to Pew Research Center, which means over half of the teenage population isn’t celebrating anyway. Valentine’s Day creates unnecessary feelings of isolation and insecurity in single people, which can be damaging to teens’ mental health.

Another problem with Valentine’s Day is the pressure that it puts on people in relationships. Couples are expected to buy gifts, plan dates and make a big show of love, even with their bank accounts and wallets screaming “no!” Love shouldn’t wait for a special day; if you truly love someone, you shouldn’t have to wait to go on a date or buy them a gift. Small, meaningful ideas are enough to make your loved one feel special every day, rather than just one big dinner. Because of this, Valentine’s Day starts to feel more like a competition rather than a celebration.

Boxes of disgusting off-brand chocolates, non-biodegradable balloons and cheap teddy bears that get thrown out because the love wasn’t real, all get piled up into our landfills, contributing to world pollution. Roses and other flowers are grown in highly maintained greenhouses, which increases harmful gas emissions that contaminate the air. Also, flower farming uses high amounts of pesticides to keep the flowers perfect, but when did striving for perfection turn into destroying the earth? According to OWL ESG, pesticides can spread beyond farms, harming ecosystems and increasing the risk of pesticide poisoning.

Valentine’s Day may be meant to celebrate love, but it often creates stress, loneliness and environmental damage instead. Love should not be limited to one day; it should matter all year long.