Valentine’s Day isn’t the most popular holiday out there, with plenty of happily coupled-up people entirely unbothered about it whenever it rolls around. But if you’re single when Valentine’s Day starts to loom, it’s all too easy to forget that little fact and crumble under the pressure to be, if not necessarily happily coupled yourself, then at least not alone.

According to new dating app FindingTheOne.com, which polled 800 singles currently signed up to its waiting list, 64% of them think Valentine’s Day is the most depressing time of the year.

Beware, then, of avalanching: the dating trend that’s all about swiping right through one’s chosen dating apps at an exponentially accelerated rate in a bid to secure someone, anyone, for a date on Valentine’s Day.

This is why 79% of people polled said they swipe right more in January, and 45% said their dating non-negotiables suddenly become… a bit more negotiable while they try to find a Valentine.

The app’s dating expert, Sylvia Linzalone, has said this avalanching approach can be counterproductive and leave daters “feeling overwhelmed and under pressure, as the sudden surge of attention hits”.

Because nothing says ‘romance’ like being buried under a pile of messages from people that you may or may not genuinely be interested in long-term anyway.

And then there’s the risk that you’ve matched with an avalancher yourself, and end up with your messages lost in the inbox of someone who only wants a date for Valentine’s Day – but not to actively date you.

So it’s no surprise that Linzalone isn’t a big fan of avalanching. Instead, she says: “What we need to do is embrace intentional dating. At FindingTheOne, we want to make sure people date with purpose, taking time to find someone if they’re really looking for a serious relationship.”

And how can people do this? Well, by swiping a little more slowly, for one. Linzalone also recommends focusing on taking chats off the apps and into real life – and for the year, not just for Valentine’s Day.

“These days,” she says, “dating apps have become just another form of social media, with extensive messaging and comparatively little face-to-face contact. It’s time to switch these two around and focus on real-life meets instead if you really want to make a change in your love life in 2024.”

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