With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, lovestruck Londoners will be racking their brains for ways to make the special occasion even more romantic.
If you’re struggling for ideas, consider using tech to your advantage. From couple’s playlists to AI-generated Valentine’s Day messages, your fave apps and software can help embellish date night.
We’ve come up with a few quick and easy tips on how to use the tech at your disposal to spruce up the big day.
Create a romantic playlist together
This is a fun way to compile the songs that soundtracked your relationship – or to create some mood music for when the lights go out.
On Spotify, you can essentially allow anyone to add songs to your playlists by selecting “invite collaborators” via the menu icon at the top of the playlist. Although Apple Music does not have the feature yet, you can use an app called Caset to add songs from the service to your digital mixtapes.
Spotify also boasts a Blend playlist option that can generate a playlist for two people based on their listening habits. Just head to your library on the mobile app and tap the plus icon at the top right and select “create blend”. Now, you’ll be asked to invite someone and, once they accept, Spotify will create a custom tracklist and cover art for the playlist. Hopefully, you both appreciate each other’s taste in music, otherwise things could get awkward.
Get AI to write a Valentine’s Day card message or poem
If you’ve purchased a Valentine’s Day card, but need some inspiration writing a romantic message, a chatbot could help.
Like a modern-day Cyrano De Bergerac, the free-to-use ChatGPT AI can whip up a poem or missive in a matter of seconds based on your suggestions. That may explain why greetings card company Moonpig is considering allowing customers to use the conversational AI to write messages.
We gave it a go by asking the chatbot to pen a rhyming verse about a person who loves gaming, and the results weren’t half-bad. Here’s what ChatGPT came up with:
“Your love for gaming is like art to me,
A form of self-expression that’s unique,
And I am proud to stand beside you, see
The way you lose yourself in what you seek.
So let us play and conquer lands untold,
Together, hand in hand, until we’re old.”
Not too shabby. Still, it’s important to note that AI is prone to mistakes and misinformation as it spits out answers based on the online info it has been trained on. So, make sure you check the results before sharing a bot-generated poem with your crush.
Use ChatGPT as an online dating coach
Staying with ChatGPT, you can also turn to the bot for help with your online love life. Take it for a spin on a dating app by asking it to write your bio, or questions to ask a new match. As always, you should be prepared for wayward results, and it helps to experiment with a few prompts.
We told the bot to create a profile for a person who loves dogs, sports, and pizza, and it came up with a serviceable response (see below) – though you’d probably want to tweak the description to make it less generic. The same applied to its attempt at conversation starters for a date, which sounded like things you’d hear at a job interview rather than flirty banter. For instance, it suggested asking, “What are your future aspirations or goals?” and “What do you do for work?”
Here’s ChatGPT’s stab at writing a dating-app bio:
“Hi there! I’m an avid dog lover, sports fan, and pizza enthusiast. I enjoy long walks with my furry friend, watching the game on TV, and trying new pizza places in town. I’m looking for someone who shares similar interests and can join me in all three. Bonus points if you have a dog of your own!
In my free time, you can catch me playing catch with my dog in the park, hitting the gym to stay active, and experimenting with new pizza toppings. I believe life is meant to be enjoyed and I make the most of every day. I’m looking for someone who is kind, spontaneous, and up for anything. Whether it’s trying a new restaurant, catching a game, or exploring the great outdoors, I’m always down for an adventure.
If you’re a dog lover who can appreciate a good slice of pizza and enjoy cheering on your favorite team, let’s connect! Who knows, we may just be a match made in heaven.”
Gift a digital game on Xbox or Steam
If the special someone in your life is a gamer, you can gift them a digital copy of a game on Xbox or Steam. Unfortunately, Nintendo and PlayStation don’t offer the function and, though you could use a gift card instead, they aren’t as personal.
Both Xbox and Steam give you the option to gift a game when you purchase it from their respective stores. If you’re looking for ideas, we’d recommend It Takes Two, a brilliant co-op platformer that will require the two of you to work together as a couple to complete puzzles and challenges.
Create a Netflix watch party for a long-distance date
Long-distance relationships can be tough this time of year. But, you can lighten the mood by watching your fave rom-com together on Netflix. Using a Chrome browser extension called Teleparty, you can stream a movie or show at the same time on a host of streaming services, and even message one another via the chatroom.
Along with Netflix, the service works with Disney+ and Amazon Prime. Once you’ve downloaded the Teleparty extension, you can invite people by sending them a unique URL. If you want to talk, you can always face-time or zoom your long-distance sweetheart, too.
Now, you just need to decide what to watch. If you need some recommendations, check out the Evening Standard’s list of the best rom-coms – and get the popcorn ready.
