On one hand, there are benefits such as independence, personal growth, and the ability to focus on career and financial stability. On the other hand, there are also cons such as loneliness, social pressure to settle down, and the fear of missing out on life experiences.
In deeper and more meaningful ways, too, people who love being single use their freedom to do what really matters to them. That could mean pursuing passions, leaving a lucrative position to have a life that is more fulfilling, or being there for the people who mean the most to them when they are most in need.
“One of the major benefits of being single is having the space in your life to spend quality time with friends,” says Roxy Zarrabi, Psy. D., a clinical psychologist. And being single actually increases social connections, according to a study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
For everyone who ever married, the average of the ratings 3.3, 2.9, and 2.9 is just 3.0. For people who never married, their happiness rating is 3.2. The single people, then, are happier, on the average, than the people who got married.
Being single can mean building stronger relationships with friends, which tend to be what matters most when it comes to combating loneliness in the long run. A study published in the journal Contexts found that people who had always been single were more attentive to their friends and family than married people.
Freedom to Focus on Yourself
Being single frees up your schedule and your mind, creating space to figure out who you want to be and ways to achieve that. There's nobody else around you demanding your attention, so get out there and become that person.
It is perfectly okay to be happily single and enjoy yourself. In fact, it is healthy to focus on creating a full, happy life, whether you're single or in a relationship. There are many enjoyable aspects of being single. You can enjoy meaningful, fulfilling connections no matter what your relationship status is.
"There is absolutely no set time frame that counts as 'too long' for being single," says Megan Stubbs, EdD, a sexologist and relationship expert based in Michigan. Part of the reason why is because there's no set definition as what "being single" actually looks like.
Around the world, people in relationships tend to be happier and healthier than those who are single. But is it always the case that people who are partnered are better off? Research says no. We are social creatures, and romantic relationships are an important way we fill our social needs.
Some age groups have a higher share of singles than others. Adults under 30 are the most likely age group to be single, with roughly half (47%) falling into this category. In contrast, 30- to 49-year-olds are the least likely to be single (21%).
Many of you noted that having no one to fall asleep next to, or wake up next to is the hardest part of being single. It's completely normal to have that longing for intimacy and to even find yourself imagining what that might look like when you find yourself feeling alone.
It is true that being single is better than being in a bad relationship or a bad marriage. It is demonstrably true — research shows that. Actually, research shows more than that. Being single is even better than being in a romantic relationship that isn't particularly bad.
Older people had different justifications for not dating than younger people — but for the most part, it wasn't because they felt undesirable. Instead, more people said that they like being single, can't find someone who meets their expectations, or just have more important priorities right now.
People who prefer being single have more time to commit to their personal pursuits and the independence to explore interests that they might not have time for in a relationship. Since being alone can be physically and mentally healthy, people often choose to end relationships or avoid them entirely.
Out of the nearly 51,000 depression screenings taken by single individuals in the past twelve months, about half (48%) scored highly consistent for symptoms of depression. Compare this with 31% of those who selected “married or in a domestic partnership”, and 38% for those who selected “widowed”.
As of 2022, Pew Research Center found, 30 percent of U.S. adults are neither married, living with a partner nor engaged in a committed relationship. Nearly half of all young adults are single: 34 percent of women, and a whopping 63 percent of men.
It is most certainly okay to be single at any time in your life, including your 40s! If you're single in your 40s, know that you're not alone. Research indicates that, in the United States, 23% of adults aged 30-49 are single, 28% of adults between the ages of 50 and 64 are single, while 36% of those 65+ are single.
According to a study, among the most frequent reasons that men indicated for being single included not being interested in a relationship, poor flirting skills, low self-confidence, poor looks, shyness, low effort, and bad experience(s) from previous relationships.
Yes… I'm 35 & Single
If you are, you're not alone. About 56% of people in their thirties are married, while the other 44% of thirty-somethings are single.
Asked if they wanted to get married, only 46% said yes, for sure (Taylor, 2010). Twenty-five (25) percent said no—these are the single people who are choosing to be single. Another 29% said they were not sure. Among those single people who had been married in the past, even more of them—46%—are choosing to stay single.
It turns out married men are actually happier after marriage than they would be if they stayed single, according to researchers at Michigan State University. The study looked at 1,366 people who weren't married before participating in the survey, got married at some point during, and stayed married.