People tend to use the word just the same as any other. No actual meaning to it -- it seems that whenever someone says "I love you" they don't actually mean it. The meaning I LOVE YOU has now shrunk to a simple I love you. It has lost its significance, its shnaz!
I hear young people saying it all the time, fourteen, fifteen year olds telling it to each other like candy. It should be something special, not something you throw out at somebody who you've only known a week or two.
Love is developed over a long period of time. Yes, there are those few cases of "love at first site," but this is a very rare occurrence and shouldn't be someone's first priority to claim their love the first moment they see them.
Love is when you would do anything to be able to see this person. It is when you jump in front of a car and push your love out of the way to save their life. It is when you can't stand one moment without him/her. It is when you think about him/her the first moment you wake up and the last second before you sleep at night. Love can not be duplicated. Love is love and everything else.
You can not claim you love someone unless you have that special feeling deep down whenever you see that person. You feel lifted off your feet and have all your fears taken away.
The word should not be thrown around like a piece of meet, but preserved for that special someone who will not leave you for another woman or man and would do anything for you to be with them and you the same.
Save the word for the right person. Preserve the meaning of love and use it towards those who deserve it.