Living Single

The truth about singles in our society.

Bella DePaulo Ph.D.

Why So Many Adults Think They Will Never Have Children

Being single is one of the three top reasons why some people do not intend to have kids, even though they want kids.

What Money and Popularity Cannot Buy, Authenticity Can

In the U.S. and South Korea, the same fundamental needs were relevant to whether an event was experienced as satisfying or unsatisfying.

Who Finds Singlehood Empowering? Who Is Disappointed by It?

Singles who are flourishing find singlehood empowering. Even among those who find singlehood disappointing, substantial numbers recognize the opportunities it offers.

Lonely? Stressed? Depressed? A Romantic Partner May Not Help

Do people who are married, or most like married people, have the best psychological health? No. What matters is whether you have friends or family you can confide in and rely on.

Hiding Who You Really Are by Converting, Passing, or Covering

People with devalued identities often feel pressured to convert, to pass, or to cover who they really are. That makes it harder to live authentically and to flourish.

The Number-One Reason Singles Aren't Looking for Relationships

Both before the pandemic and now, many single people are not looking for a romantic relationship or even a date. The most important reason in 2022? They like being single.

Why Don't Talented Single Women Get Promoted?

MBA graduates are less likely to be promoted early in their careers if they are analytically talented single women than if they are married men, married women, or single men.

Is Parenting, or Not Parenting, Important to Your Identity?

Experiences and decisions around parenting – whether, when, and how to do so – can be important to our identities. Here’s how we can be more understanding of different life paths.

Is Cohousing the Answer for People Who Prize Solitude and Sociability?

People living in cohousing communities like feeling connected without being controlled and appreciate the flexibility to choose solitude or sociability.

18 Questions to Get to Know a Single Person

Single life can be understood as a psychologically rich, meaningful life, if only the people we meet, as well as the social scientists who study us, would ask the right questions.

Does It Matter If People Know That You Are Happily Single?

A group’s clout isn’t just about the number of people in that group, but the number of people who know someone in that group. It might help if group members make themselves known.

Why a Little Socializing Goes a Long Way

Seeing other people weekly or even monthly can be at least as good for your health and longevity, and maybe better, than seeing them every day.

Who's Most Likely to Drop Their Old Friends?

Single people tend to shed friends when they start dating, new research finds, and couples do the same when they move in together. Empty nesters have the fewest friends.

Four in Ten in the U.S. Do Not Believe Singles Are Treated Unfairly

Unfair treatment of single people has been documented, but substantial numbers of Americans do not believe it happens or that it is unfair.

Growing, Learning, Connecting: The Benefits of Being Alone

Spending time alone can be emotionally rewarding in different ways for different people, even during a pandemic. Research shows that in some ways, the oldest adults benefit most.

The Strategic Singlehood of Black Women

Research shows that in their single lives, Black women pursue important life goals, experience personal growth, and appreciate their freedom and safety.

The Risk of Caring Too Much About Romance

Our preoccupation with romantic love has some serious downsides. Life choices can become limited, and people can become depressed rather than blissful.

Single Manhood Is So Much More Than the Stereotypes

The study of single life includes inspiring work by and about single women. But where are the men? Lucas Bradley shares some ideas about how to completely reimagine single manhood.

How Singles Find a Place That Feels Like Home

The typical nuclear family home is ill-suited for single people with no children. They have their own ideas for creating homes of their own.

For Singles, Gift-Giving Is Rarely Reciprocal

Singles often give more gifts than they receive because of the kinds of life events that are and are not celebrated. A study examines how they deal with the disparity.

Is It Harder to Be a Single Man or a Single Woman?

Singlism has gender biases. Craig Wynne and Joan DelFattore explore how prejudice, stereotypes, and unfair treatment of single people is different for single women vs. single men.

Why Are Fewer People Finding Fulfillment in Relationships?

Fewer Americans are finding fulfillment in romantic partners, while placing a higher value on freedom and independence is increasing. It’s different elsewhere.

How Your Beliefs About Single People Can Affect Them

Other people’s stereotypes of single people can cause some single people to doubt themselves. The psychological dynamics can be subtle, with no one realizing what is happening.

How Women, Single People, Young People, and People of Color Show Generosity

Research has examined the charitable contributions of single people, women, young people, and members of communities of color. What they give is not just money.

The Power of Being Unafraid of Singlehood

From their personality profiles to their skills navigating romantic relationships (if they are interested in them), people who are securely single have many advantages.

What Motivates a Person to Be an Ally?

Some people have a genuine interest in helping disadvantaged groups or feel morally called to do so. Others may have less pure motivations.

Are Romantic Themes in Movies and TV Toxic for Single Women?

Single women who watched more TV shows and movies with romantic themes felt more fearful about being single. It was different for single men.

A New Way to Think About Happy Single People

The Single at Heart, quirkyalone, self-partnered, consciously uncoupled, and solitaries are embracing their single lives. Here’s what those terms mean.

There Are More Single People Than Ever. Here's Why That's Not a Problem.

A rising share of Americans are living without a romantic partner—and many of them are finding single life to be profoundly rewarding.

Married Men Paid More Than Single Men, Get More Interviews

Even when their credentials are identical, married men get more job interviews and higher salaries. That’s not a reward for productivity; it is discrimination.

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