Single person

From HandWiki
Short description: Person not in a marital, romantic or sexual relationship

In legal definitions for interpersonal status, a person who is single is an individual not in a romantic relationship, married, or part of a civil union.[1][2]

Terminology

Terminology for singleness varies, usually based on gender, language, and country. Generally, singles can be categorized by the following terms: never married, separated, divorced, and widowed.

English

Terms used to describe single men are seldom used, and carry positive connotations. Single men are often simply referred to as bachelors.

The English language has more terms for single, unwed women. These terms typically carry a negative connotation. Single women are sometimes called bachelorettes, especially in festive contexts in American English. However, the historic term for unwed women is spinster. The connotations of the word spinster have changed so much over time that it is now considered a derogatory term. The Oxford English Dictionary says in its usage notes for the word:

The development of the word spinster is a good example of the way in which a word acquires strong connotations to the extent that it can no longer be used in a neutral sense. From the 17th century the word was appended to names as the official legal description of an unmarried woman: Elizabeth Harris of London, Spinster. This type of use survives today in some legal and religious contexts. In modern everyday English, however, spinster cannot be used to mean simply ‘unmarried woman’; it is now always a derogatory term, referring or alluding to a stereotype of an older woman who is unmarried, childless, prissy, and repressed.[3]

Though spinster has a long history of being negative, there are some authors, such as Katie Bolick, who are trying to change the word's connotation into something positive.[4] Additionally, the phrase Old Maid is used to describe an unmarried woman.

In 2019, Emma Watson coined the phrase "self-partnered" to describe her status as happily single.[5]

French

Catherinette was a traditional French label for women of 25 years who were still unmarried by the Feast of Saint Catherine.

Chinese

The term sheng nu is used to describe unmarried women who are in mid to late twenties in China and East Asia.[6]

Japanese

In Japan, men who have no interest in getting married are called sōshoku(-kei) danshi (草食(系)男子 ) or Herbivore men. This term also describes young men who have lost their "manliness".

Reasons people remain single

People may be or remain single for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to) one or several of the following:

Some single people regard and appreciate solitude as an opportunity. Some people stay single by choice. In addition to choosing singleness as a preferential option, there are also those who forgo marriage due to religious orders that prescribe its forbearance.[1] These religious traditions include:

  • The Christian monastic cultures of Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy
  • The specific Buddhist monastic traditions[13]

By country

Statistics

Source: OECD[14]

Distribution of single-person households by country (2021)[14]
Country %
 Finland
45.34
 Germany
43.14
 Norway
42.14
 Latvia
41.08
 Sweden
39.24
 Czechia
39.15
 Netherlands
38.50
 Austria
38.34
 Japan
37.97
 France
37.78
 Denmark
37.57
 Estonia
36.99
 Switzerland
36.88
 Italy
36.64
 Bulgaria
35.81
 Belgium
35.50
 South Korea
35.47
 Lithuania
35.16
 Hungary
34.42
 Slovenia
34.00
 Romania
33.63
 Malta
32.51
 Greece
32.35
 Slovakia
31.40
 United Kingdom
30.81

United States

According to the United States Bureau of the Census, the fastest-growing household type since the 1980s has been the single person. Previously both socially uncommon and unaccepted due to perceived roles, public awareness, modern socioeconomic factors, and increasingly available popular and lengthier education and careers have made the single lifestyle a viable option for many Americans, especially after the Vietnam War.[15]

According to the United States Bureau of the Census, in 2016, single adults accounted for over 45% of the US population. 65% of this group had never been married.[16] In 2014, Pew Research Center notes that the highest percentage of never-married adults between White, Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans were Black Americans. The same study also projected that about 25% of millennials may not get married.[7]

Pandemic effects

A 2024 Stanford University study found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the number of single Americans. Researchers estimated that an additional 13.3 million people were single in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels. This increase was attributed to the dissolution of new relationships, the failure of informal relationships to develop, and disruptions to the dating market.

The study also revealed that the average American's weekly socializing time had not fully recovered from the pandemic. In 2022, individuals reported spending an average of 4.1 hours per week socializing, which was still below the pre-pandemic average of 4.5 hours per week in 2019.[17]

United Kingdom

Japan

In Japan, it is not uncommon for citizens to choose to remain single. This has been illustrated with many public figures and celebrities. Women typically value friendships over romantic relationships; many continue to have jobs and marry later, or forego marriage completely.[18]

However, people in Japan who do wish to date have reported that it is difficult to find the time to do so due to being overworked.[19]

South Korea

In South Korea an unofficial holiday called Black Day is observed on 14 April each year by and for single people. Singles who did not receive gifts on Valentine's Day or White Day meet dressed in black and eat jajangmyeon, noodles covered in black bean paste. The dish is one of South Korea's national foods, and is considered a comfort food.[20][21][22]

Sweden

In Stockholm, Sweden, sixty per cent of people live by themselves.[23]

Civil status and health

A study in 2000 by the BioMed Central's public health journal covering the anti-depressant use of 3,500 Finnish people found an 80% increased risk of depression for those living alone.[24] A 2022 finding published in the August issue of Frontiers in Psychiatry using 2,056 studies and data from 123,859 participants found that living alone increased the chances of depression by 42%.[25]

Paul Dolan, professor in behaviorial science at the London School of Economics, explained that "if you're a woman, don't bother [getting married]", as a study from the American Time Use Survey found that single women live longer and happier lives than married women.[26]

People who support singleness have different opinions on it, pointing out that not all marriages are created equal. Healthy people, with psychological well-being, have happy relationships with their partners. In contrast, unhappy marriages will have the opposite effect, "A bad marriage can make a person feel more isolated than being single"[27] according to sociologist professor Eric Klinenber at New York University.

A study of more than 10,000 adults found that married couples were more likely to gain weight during their process of romantic ventures than singles.[28] In other words, married couples have a higher risk of weight gain that may be large enough to pose a health risk,[27] as reported by Zhenchao Qian, professor of sociology at Ohio State University.

Targeting

Dating services are an especially targeted and advertised service for singles.[29] The growth of the dating services and dating events industry has been so drastic that the phrase "dating–industrial complex" (reminiscent of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's term "military industrial complex") has been coined to capture the amount of money and manpower devoted to dating services for singles.[30][31]

Singles events have been an area of particular growth in singles-related commerce.[32] Many events are aimed at singles of particular affiliations, interest, or religions.[33] Some of the most strongly attended such events are the Christmas Eve party targeted at young Jewish singles in major cities in North America, particularly the Matzo Ball and its big city competitors.[34] A variety of other religious organizations' singles events are also very popular. However, dating via religious-sponsored singles events has also been criticized for fostering invasion of daters' privacy and undue expectations.[35]

In some countries, particular laws may directly or indirectly disadvantage single persons. In the United States, for example, Social Security widow(er) benefits are only available to those persons who have been previously married,[36] and the structure of United States federal income tax brackets can result in paying a marriage penalty or marriage bonus.[37][38] In many countries tour and holiday operators impose a penalty (often as much as 100%) called the single supplement on those traveling alone.[39]

Older singles are disproportionately targeted by fraudsters, including through romance scams. The US Federal Trade Commission reported those aged 70 and over suffer the highest individual median financial losses from romance fraud of any age group.[40] The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, too, identified lonely older people seeking relationships as among the most common targets of such fraud,[41] and approaches are often over a telephone call.[42]

Film and television

  • A Single Man
  • Bridget Jones's Diary
  • Entourage
  • Girls
  • How to Be Single
  • Living Single
  • Sex and the City
  • Singles
  • The Golden Girls
  • The Single Moms Club

Literature

  • Bridget Jones's Diary
  • Single Life: Unmarried Adults in Social Context[43]
  • Single: Arguments for the Uncoupled[44]
  • Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone[45]
  • All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation[46]
  • Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Koropeckyj-Cox, Tanya (2009), Carr, Deborah, ed. (in en), Singlehood, Later Life, 3, Macmillan Reference USA, pp. 370–375, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3273000341/GVRL?u=nclivewfuy&sid=GVRL&xid=6ad7f2a7, retrieved 2019-04-23 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kislev, Elyakim (2019). Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living. University of California Press. https://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520299146. 
  3. ↑ "spinster - definition of spinster in English - Oxford Dictionaries". http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/spinster. 
  4. ↑ Bolick, Kate (2015). Spinster : making a life of one's own (First ed.). New York. ISBN 9780385347136. OCLC 902726565. https://archive.org/details/spinstermakingli0000boli. 
  5. ↑ Cernik, Lizzie (6 November 2019). "Self-partnered: the sudden, surprising rise of the single positivity movement". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/06/consciously-uncoupled-the-joy-of-self-partnership. 
    Picheta, Rob (10 November 2019). "Emma Watson's 'self-partnership' shows we're in a golden age of singlehood". CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/10/uk/emma-watson-singlehood-gbr-scli-intl/index.html. 
  6. ↑ Lubowiecki-Vikuk, AP (2011). Determinants of recreational and tourism activity among single men and women from the Wielkopolska Province. AWF Poznan. pp. 12–17. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Record Share of Americans Have Never Married | Pew Research Center" (in en-US). 2014-09-24. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/09/24/record-share-of-americans-have-never-married/. 
  8. ↑ Whitley, Rob (28 September 2017). "Dating with Mental Illness: What Is It Like?". https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/talking-about-men/201709/dating-mental-illness-what-is-it. 
  9. ↑ DNews (12 January 2010). "China's Gender Gap Leaves Millions of Single Men". Discovery News. http://news.discovery.com/human/china-birth-rate-single-men.html. 
  10. ↑ AFP/Discovery News, 12 January, 2010Alex Williams, "The New Math on Campus", New York Times, 5 February 2010
  11. ↑ "5 Reasons People Choose to Stay Single" (in en-US). http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/me-we/201309/5-reasons-people-choose-stay-single. 
  12. ↑ DSM-5-TR.
  13. ↑ Weckman, George (2005), Jones, Lindsay, ed. (in en), Monasticism: An Overview, 9 (2nd. ed.), Macmillan Reference USA, pp. 6121–6126, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3424502096/GVRL?u=nclivewfuy&sid=GVRL&xid=696954c8, retrieved 2019-04-23 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 OECD (December 2025). "Types of Households, 2021". https://webfs.oecd.org/els-com/Family_Database/SF_1_1_Family_size_and_composition.pdf. 
  15. ↑ Scott, Jacqueline L.; Treas, Judith; Richards, Martin (2004). The Blackwell companion to the sociology of families. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 377–378. ISBN 978-0-631-22158-6. 
  16. ↑ "Unmarried and Single Americans Week: Sept. 17-23, 2017" (in EN-US). https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/single-americans-week.html. 
  17. ↑ Steverman, Ben (2024-09-10). "The Covid Pandemic Left an Extra 13 Million Americans Single". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-10/us-economy-is-reshaped-by-covid-fueled-dating-recession. Retrieved 2024-09-11. 
  18. ↑ Schefft, J (2007). Better Single Than Sorry. Harper Collins. p. 12. https://archive.org/details/bettersinglethan00sche_725. 
  19. ↑ Semuels, Alana (20 July 2017). "The Mystery of Why Japanese People Are Having So Few Babies". The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/japan-mystery-low-birth-rate/534291/. 
  20. ↑ Smith, Annabelle (13 February 2013). "Korea's Black Day: When Sad, Single People Get Together And Eat Black Food". Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/koreas-black-day-when-sad-single-people-get-together-and-eat-black-food-16537918/. 
  21. ↑ Robins-Early, Nick. "Alone On Valentine's Day? South Korea Has A Holiday Just For You". HuffPost. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/korea-black-day_n_6672380?ri18n=true. 
  22. ↑ Herskovitz, Jon (14 April 2008). "South Korea's Black Day for love". Reuters (Seoul). https://uk.reuters.com/article/oukoe-uk-korea-blackday-idUKSEO18852320080414. 
  23. ↑ "Flying Solo - Doc Zone". http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/flying-solo. 
  24. ↑ "People living alone 'are more depressed'". BBC News. 23 March 2012. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17475240. 
  25. ↑ Emamzadeh, Arash (27 November 2022). "How Living Alone Increases the Risk of Depression". Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/finding-new-home/202211/how-living-alone-increases-the-risk-depression. 
  26. ↑ "Women are happier without children or a spouse, says happiness expert". 25 May 2019. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/may/25/women-happier-without-children-or-a-spouse-happiness-expert. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 " Health Benefits Of Being Single". Huffpost Healthy Living. 12 February 2013.
  28. ↑ " Marriage and men's health" . Harvard Health Publications. 10 July 2011.
  29. ↑ Jarice Hanson. (2007) 24/7: how cell phones and the Internet change the way we live, work, and play, p. 81
  30. ↑ Jane Ganahl. "The downside of cyber-romance", San Francisco Chronicle, 28 March 2004
  31. ↑ Roy S. Gutterman. "There's a Science (and Terminology) to the Process of Getting Rejected" , The (Philadelphia) Jewish Exponent, 3 April 2008
  32. ↑ Larry Glanz and Robert H. Phillips. (2003) Guy Gets Girl, Girl Gets Guy: Where to Find Romance and What to Say When You Find It, p. 59
  33. ↑ Monica B. Morris. (2005) Falling in love again: the mature woman's guide to finding romantic fulfillment, p. 80
  34. ↑ Jessica Gresko, Dec. 24 Becomes Party Night for Jewish Singles , Associated Press (Washington Post), 24 December 2006
  35. ↑ William July, II. (2003) Confessions of an ex-bachelor, p. 113
  36. ↑ "Survivor Benefits". Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html. 
  37. ↑ "What are marriage penalties and bonuses?". Tax Policy Center. January 2024. https://taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-are-marriage-penalties-and-bonuses. 
  38. ↑ Pomerleau, Kyle (2015-04-23). "Understanding the Marriage Penalty and Marriage Bonus". Tax Foundation. https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/understanding-marriage-penalty-and-marriage-bonus/. 
  39. ↑ "Singled Out (for the Single Supplement)". The New York Times. 2013-03-10. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/travel/singled-out-for-the-single-supplement.html. 
  40. ↑ "Romance Scams Rank Number One on Total Reported Losses". Federal Trade Commission. February 2019. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/attachments/blog_posts/Romance%20scams%20rank%20number%20one%20on%20total%20reported%20losses%20/romance_scams_spotlight_feb2019_0_0.pdf. 
  41. ↑ "В МВД рассказали, кто чаще становится жертвами мошенников на сайтах знакомств" (in ru). TASS. https://finance.mail.ru/article/v-mvd-rasskazali-kto-chasche-stanovitsya-zhertvami-moshennikov-na-saytah-znakomstv-68365223/. 
  42. ↑ "Мошенники активно звонили одиноким россиянам в преддверии Дня влюбленных" (in ru). РИА Новости. RIA Novosti. 2026-02-14. https://ria.ru/20260214/moshenniki-2074332675.html. 
  43. ↑ Single life : unmarried adults in social context. Stein, Peter J., 1937-. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1981. ISBN 0312725965. OCLC 7289383. 
  44. ↑ Cobb, Michael L. (2 July 2012). Single : arguments for the uncoupled. New York. ISBN 9780814772560. OCLC 782878106. 
  45. ↑ Klinenberg, Eric. (2013). Going solo : the extraordinary rise and surprising appeal of living alone. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780143122777. OCLC 825111785. https://archive.org/details/goingsoloextraor00eric. 
  46. ↑ Traister, Rebecca (March 2016). All the single ladies : unmarried women and the rise of an independent nation (First Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.). New York. ISBN 9781476716565. OCLC 933728312. 

Sources

  • "Neurodevelopmental Disorders". Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 18 March 2022. ISBN 978-0-89042-577-0. 



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