Procrastinator's Valentine Validation

This is a Valentine truism: If there were no teenage girls, there'd be no advance planning for Valentine's Day. They are the population that keeps the idea of love alive, and pushing the occasion into the top 200 searches on Yahoo!.

But not to worry, there are people of all ages still searching last-minute V-Day details. Hearteningly, the gender distribution gets more equal for the search term "Valentine Day" as the day goes on: Instead of 6 out of 10 queries being pursued by females, the imbalance slightly declines to a 56% female / 34% male ratio. True, the ladies are more conscientious in acknowledgements, like "Valentine's Day Cards" (65% F/35% M).

Males do lead in one area: They've been asking "When is Valentine's Day" on Yahoo! (15% F/85%M) since January 17. But many guys do capitulate - I mean, join in on the fun. Guys slightly edged out the females in the frantic online surge for "valentine gifts" on the last weekend shopping day (49% F/51% M -- the term popped up more than 400% to make the top 2,000 searches.) Also surging at the last minute, "valentine dinner ideas," "valentine's day flower delivery."

We said before Valentine's Day is one occasion that the young advocate. Whoever says kids these days don't have the words anymore to express themselves just don't understand: As Valentine Day searches prove, It's because they're struggling to find the perfect words. They've been going online to look for "valentine's card messages," "funny valentine day quotes," "short valentine day poems," "sweet valentine messages," "love sms," "romantic love letters" and something I don't actually recommend: "valentines day jokes."

And in case you're worried they're squandering their time on a commercially-manufactured occasion: Holidays turn out to be educational opportunities. Usually Valentine's is about sharing and making crafts, like Kids Valentine Box Ideas (+764%), Homemade Valentines, and looking into the history and origin of this day.

Yes, this day is also good for protests: Anti Valentine Day searches are right on cue, including "I Hate Valentine's Day."

But you don't have to go in for the romance. Valentine is for love like New Year is for weight: It just gives you an occasion to improve upon it - like vowing to express your affection for friends and family. Most charming searches: finding a poem for mom, or for a friend. (Valentine poems are in the top 1000, 65%F/35%M).