Singleton (lifestyle)

"Singleton" is a term for human beings who live in a single-person household, especially those who prefer the lifestyle of living alone.[1][2] It was popularized by the Bridget Jones novels and films,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] but is also a term used in sociology.

Patterns

Sociologist Eric Klinenberg reports that before the 1950s, no society has had large numbers of people living alone. Historically, this has happened when elderly people outlive their spouses, and when men have migrated for work. In modern times, large numbers of people have begun to live happily alone in cities and with the help of communication technologies like the telephone, email, and social networking services. Klinenberg has found that the ability of women to work, own property, and initiate divorce creates more opportunities for living alone; in countries like Saudi Arabia where women do not have autonomy, relatively few people live alone.[10]

Single people may live alone before their first romantic partner, after a divorce, or after their partner has died. When unmarried or married couples maintain separate residences as an alternative to cohabitation, it may be a long distance relationship, a temporary separation due to troubles in the relationship, or simply living apart together.

The number of people who live alone is correlated with how wealthy their country is.[11] In wealthy countries, people are more likely to choose the privacy, individualism, and sometimes the loneliness of living alone.[11] In poor countries, most people live in extended family groups, which provide material, social, and emotional support to each other, as well as imposing the responsibility of similarly caring for other family members.[11]

See also

References
  1. The New York Times
  2. The New York Observer
  3. The Age
  4. Guardian
  5. People Magazine
  6. Stylist.co.uk
  7. The Telegraph
  8. Entertainmentwise.com
  9. PBS
  10. Eric Klinenberg (2013). Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0143122777.
  11. Brooks, Story by David. "The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake". The Atlantic. ISSN 1072-7825. Retrieved 2020-10-02.


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