Once upon a time, Valentine’s Day was a rite of passage for singles, a perfect excuse to express fondness. Asking someone to be your valentine was a big deal, but it also wasn’t that deep; it was basically like admitting you had a crush on them with roses and chocolates. The occasion showed up in all sorts of trivially romantic ways, like middle schoolers comparing love notes from secret admirers or high schoolers asking their crushes out to mini golf.

Then, sometime during the journey into adulthood, you never had a crush again. (Kidding.) But it does feel like a decade-plus of dating apps usage has created a separation in how society mingles: The art of shooting your shot within your network is dead, and with it, the practice of singles aiming Cupid’s arrow at someone they like.

In fact, it’s a dire dating problem because it seems the only place where people feel comfortable facing rejection is online. But if the AI metamorphosis of society has taught us hopeless romantics anything, we want a return to form for our humanity. We want to bring back flirting with strangers in public (there’s nothing that can’t be done with class)! We’re embracing having eras of secret infatuation because our hearts romanticize the world and are not diluted in endless swiping and step-and-repeat messaging. We’re handing out our phone numbers on Post-it notes and shamelessly taking up new hobbies for the sake of socializing.

We’re breaking free from instant dopamine that no longer serves us — but also acknowledging that we need to find more of it in real life. On that note, it’s time Valentine’s Day is reclaimed for its rightful demographic: singles. You might think that you need to have a partner to celebrate romance, but what you really need is a crush . . . and the willingness to approach them. And please don’t roll your eyes, but, yes, there’s a trending buzzword for it.