Dr Bella DePaulo, of the University of California, claims the pervasive view that singles must be "sad and lonely" is nonsense and claims people on their own often live more meaningful lives.
Speaking at the American Psychological Society’s annual meeting, Dr DePaulo said there was a relentless celebration of marriage and couples in popular culture, which she labels "matrimania", while singles faced discrimination and stereotyping. [...]
“Considering all of the financial and cultural advantages people get just because they are married, and all the ways in which they are believed to be advantaged by the social support and other relational aspects of marriage, it becomes even more striking that single people are doing as well as they are,” she added.
Research comparing people who have stayed single with those who have stayed married shows that singles have a heightened sense of self-determination and are more likely to experience a sense of continued growth and development as a person. [...]
However, she warned that a preoccupation with the perils of loneliness often obscures the benefits of solitude and can make single people unhappy.
“There is no one blueprint for the good life,” she added. “We can create our own life spaces. What matters is not what everyone else is doing or what other people think we should be doing, but whether we can find the places, the spaces, and the people that fit who we really are and allow us to live our best lives.”
