It all started with Valentine’s Day.

Yes, I thought it was beautiful when my dad gave my mom a pearl necklace to conceal a scar on her neck that had long survived after her thyroid cancer. I even thought it was kind of sweet when my sister treated her new rhinestone heart bracelet from the love of her life (of two months) like an engagement ring.

But not long after that, I cracked.

Maybe it was knowing that V-Day was invented by greeting card companies. Maybe it was seeing too many of those sickening candy hearts, but to say I was disgusted would not begin to describe how I felt.

Not only did I empathize with local radio show hosts who moaned that they weren’t even done paying for Christmas when the first Ben Bridge Jewelers commercials came on, but I felt like ripping out my car radio every time those stations talked about what a great excuse the holiday was to buy jewelry and chocolate.

I realized with slow horror that this was not only because of Valentine’s Day. That holiday has long passed, and it’s apparent that dating in general is pressured and affected by corporations’ immense influence over advertising.

Now, before you attribute this to the bitter rationalizations of a heartbroken, single girl, know that I have a great boyfriend and we have been happy for nearly three years. So believe me when I tell you that commercialism creates these unrealistic expectations, which are ruining the foundation of dating.

Companies such as Dove Chocolate, Godiva, Cartier and Kay Jewelers spend millions on advertising every year. They understandably get more aggressive the closer it gets to gift-giving holidays – the time when people are already spending excess amounts of money on novelties such as green beer, Mardi Gras beads, confetti and noise makers that will be discarded the next day. People get used to spending money – soon it doesn’t seem odd to be spending hundreds of more dollars.

Now, expensive electronics companies are trying to get in on the holiday spending spree by advertising new cell phones and iPods as not only affordable, but a part of the new standard of living. Of course, credit card companies are not fighting this trend either.

The problem with buying at these companies’ leisure is that it’s like being brainwashed. Ben Bridge advertises that you need to buy something to win her heart and we listen. It also makes us feel like we’re lacking or deprived if we don’t have the latest high-tech gizmo with extra features when someone else does.

What’s worse is that even magazines are sizing up our relationships by publishing articles stating that if your man is really committed to you, he’d buy you a diamond necklace or take you to a trendy restaurant.

Now, I’d be wrong if I said that we’re not all materialistic to some extent. It’s not a crime to appreciate the affordable indulgences in life. But, realistically, these companies target customers who can’t possibly afford all the sparkly and electronic nonsense they display, especially when those consumers are in college.

The sad truth is that some people actually put off important opportunities such as higher education to afford these ridiculously extravagant gifts.

Remember, no matter how much you love that iPod, it doesn’t love you back. So you can’t tell me that long walks on the beach are overrated because the best things in life are still free.

-Emily Malebranche is a journalism junior.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.