Single Vs Married: Is Being Single Better Than Being Married?

Written By:

Written By:

Single Vs Married 2

Single vs married is always a hot topic to debate. A lot of people claim that marriage is a source of all happiness and many believe in the โ€œlive happily ever afterโ€ slogan from fairyย tales. But, if you are contemplating โ€“ Is being single better than being married, then this post is an eye opener.

Does being married help you live a long, happy life?

No, according to Bella DePaulo!

Bella DePaulo, social psychologist and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara,ย  wanted to challenge this โ€œconventional wisdomโ€ and told the same to the American Psychological Associationโ€™s annual convention in Denver.

People who are single โ€œlive their best, most authentic and most meaningful lifeโ€ the psychologist claimed based on her years of research.ย Professor DePaulo said to the convention that she is โ€œsingle, always have been and always will beโ€. There is an increasing number of people who choose to stay single, for they believe that โ€œhappily marriedโ€ is a myth. She also validates her claims with facts and explains why Is being single better than being married.

Related: Being Single: 20 Important Lessons I Learned From Being Alone

Is Being Single Better Than Being Married?

Why Is being single better than being married?

Bella DePaulo started to investigate the results of being single vs married and came across 800 different studies (that mentioned single people) conducted in the last three decades. Some of the study results based on comparing people who stayed single with those who married showed that โ€“

  • Single people demonstrated a higher level of self-determination than their married counterparts.
  • People who stayed single were found highly likely to experience continued growth and development in life.ย 

In another study published in NCBI, comprising people who stayed single lifelong, such people โ€“

  • Were found to value and engage in meaningful work.
  • Were more self-sufficient than married people
  • Were less likely to experience negative behaviors or emotions

But, in the case of married people, it was just the opposite.ย The above data validates that singles too can live a long, happy, healthy life. Scroll down to know the reasons why being single is better than being married.

Related: Why Empaths Prefer To Stay Single and Not in Relationships

Single Vs Married: Whatโ€™s the latest trend?

Now coming to statistics, as per Office for National Statistics figures:

  • Before 2002, UK had 16.2 million single people compared to 23.7 million married people.
  • In 2002, there were 12.5 million single people compared to 23 million married ones

As per the reports released in 2019:

  • The number of people aged 16 years and above and married living in England and Wales has decreased in 2018 to 50.5%.ย 
  • The number of people aged 16 years and above who are single and never married has increased by 35.0% in 2018.
  • The population of the same age group who live with a partner but never married has increased from 1.3 million people since 2008 to a total of 5.0 million in 2018.ย 
  • The number of married people who are under the age of 70 years has decreased but those above 70 years and above and married have increased from 50.3% in 2008 to 55.8% in 2018.ย 

The situation is the same in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

  • In 2014, more than 50% of Americans over age 16, were single.
  • Whereas in 1976, only 37.4% of the population was unmarried.ย 

Coming back to the question โ€“ โ€œIs being single better?โ€, professor DePauloโ€™s research reveal that there is an increasing number of people who are single and never married, not only in the UK but in different parts of the world. Yet, people rarely acknowledge the growing popularity of โ€œunmarried lifeโ€.ย 

Related: 109-Year-Old Woman Says Secret To A Long Life Is Avoiding Men

Research says you can be single and happy!!!

She said an increasing number of people are willingly single and it is the choice they have made consciously. And that is expressed by constructing their self-identity and accepting their new way of life.ย Those willingly single know how to be happy even without the knight in shining armour. Not all single people are depressed or frustrated or lonely.

is being single better

Related: Powerful New Yearโ€™s Resolutions Every Single Woman Should Make

According to a study published inย Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, when compared to married people, single people are more connected to parents, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Because when people get married, they become more insular.ย The surprising study findings explain why is being single better than being in a relationship. In short, being single beats being married

Why people canโ€™t accept that being single beats married life?

The problem with the world is that they focus on the loneliness and other negativities associated with not getting married. But what about the beauty and benefit of solitude that most people enjoy being single? How can one ignore that?

Please know that married people are supported by the โ€œrelentless celebration of marriage and coupling and weddings that I call matrimaniaโ€ professor DePaulo said.ย N doubt, getting married gives you a plethora of benefits in terms of laws, legal and financial protections, and federal benefits. Aside of that cultural advantages too.ย 

But, single people are doing as well as the married people are!

The world is in need of an accurate portrayal of the lives of people who stayed single and never married. And need honest revealations about single people โ€“ how they are strong, independent, and mentally resilient and live a meaningful life without getting married.ย There is a need for more research on never married single people to highlight the reasons why being single is better than being married.

Read about the science-backed benefits of being single here

However, in this so called modern society,

  • Singlism is considered a crime.
  • Unmarried, single people are marginalized, stigmatized, and tortured with various stereotypes and discrimination.ย ย 
  • Decades after decades single people are been brainwashed with words โ€“ โ€œget married, get happier and healthierโ€.

Closely looking at the vast literature available today about single vs married people, it doesnโ€™t validate this age prevailing idea of โ€œhappily marriedโ€. According to National Statistics Domestic Violence (NCADV), in a year, more than 10 million women and men are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

Social media and movies like โ€œFifty Shades of Greyโ€ or โ€œSuicide Squadโ€ glorify toxic relationships as true love. Such relationships are far from perfect, but netigens get a wrong idea of what a healthy, meaningful relationship or marriage looks like.

Related: 5 Ways Social Media Can Kill A Relationship Before It Even Begins

No wonder why there is an increase in divorce rates and decrease in marriage rates in different parts of the world.These stats also validate why is being single better than bad relationship.

Now itโ€™s time to ponder:

  • Arenโ€™t these so-called, well-established married people (with or without toxic partners) craving for their single life again?
  • Why is there a growing number of people coming back to the point where they were when they were single?
  • Why sayings like โ€œbeing single better than bad relationshipโ€ or โ€œbeing single is better than being marriedโ€ are trending on social media?

It means all this long what we believed to be true about marriage and happy endings is actually False.ย 

single vs married

Related: Why Itโ€™s Better To Stay Single Than In A Toxic Relationship

Being single beats being married

I hope that the above discussion clears why is being single better than being married. But, I donโ€™t mean to say that everyone must stay single forever and never get married! I am myself a single woman and never got married. I want you to know that satisfaction or happiness doesnโ€™t come only from romantic relationships. I believe that the key to healthy, happy and long life is to have genuine attachment relationships and a bulk of literature validates the same.

Professor DePaulo also said that with increasing research in this field, scholars are also learning the โ€œ risks of putting too much relationship capital into The One, and the psychological benefits of investing in The Ones.โ€

It canโ€™t be said with a guarantee that one relationship status is better than the other. Everyone is unique and there is no blueprint for a good life. In Professor DePauloโ€™s words, one must pursue what is best for them be it place, spouse, relationships, or people who are compatible with who you really are and allow you to live your best lives.

No I would like to ask you โ€“ Is being single better than being married? What do you think? Leave a comment below!


Single people live their best, most authentic and most meaningful life
is being single better
Single Vs Married pin

— Share —

Published On:

Last updated on:

,

— About the Author —

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Up Next

40+ Funny Questions to Ask Your Boyfriend That Will Leave Him Cracking Up

Funny Questions to Ask Your Boyfriend That'll Crack Him Up

If you want to keep the spark alive in your relationship, and fill your conversations with humor and laughter, then you have come to the right place. Today, we are going to do a deep dive into some of the best and funny questions to ask your boyfriend.

Whether youโ€™re looking for funny questions to ask your partner during a road trip, a lazy Sunday, or just to break the ice, a little humor goes a long way. After all, who doesnโ€™t love a good laugh?

If you want to tease his goofy side, and get him to wrack his mind in ridiculously funny ways, then this list of questions will surely do the trick.

When it comes to funny questions to ask your partner to make him laugh, this is one of the sneaky ways to also get to know him better – his

Up Next

Is the Romance Gone? What to Do When Your Partner Feels Like a Roommate

Does Your Partner Feels Like a Roommate? Hereโ€™s How to Fix It

When your partner feels like a roommate, the spark can start to fizzle, leaving the relationship stuck in autopilot. But donโ€™t worryโ€”there are plenty of ways to deal with emotional distance and bring back the excitement.

KEY POINTS

When partners feel like roommates, it’s a sign of a pattern of mutual emotional withdrawal.

Instead of leaning on each other, partners have been going to their separate corners, being hyper-independent.

To break this pattern, partners need to learn to take emotional risks: sharing their feelings and needs.

Withdrawing behavior is

Up Next

Marriage of Convenience or True Love? 8 Signs Youโ€™re Just Settling

Marriage of Convenience or True Love? Signs Youโ€™re Settling

If you think you are in a marriage of convenience, you will know that it doesn’t feel like a fairy tale, rather it’s about maintaining the status quo. Maybe you are staying in this marriage because everything is “okay” and “stable”.

All the bills are getting paid on time, the house is comfortable, and the kids are happy to have both their parents under the same roof. Moreover, you don’t want to deal with the hassle that comes with filing for a divorce, so you just…stay.

Does this sound familiar? The unfortunate truth is that many married couples stay in a loveless marriage because dealing with the alternate option is scary. Theyโ€™re together, but theyโ€™re not really together. They function more like roommates, business partners, or co-parents rather than lovers.

So, if you have ever thought, “A

Up Next

The 3 Most Destructive Relationship Patterns and How to Break Them

Most Destructive Relationship Patterns and How to Break Them

Destructive relationship patterns can sneak into even the best bonds, messing things up before you know it. These types of destructive patterns can drain the joy right out of a relationship. So, letโ€™s break them down, and try to find out how to break out of it.

KEY POINTS

Destructive relationship patterns include pursue/withdraw, withdraw/withdraw, and fight/fight.

If not addressed, these patterns can snowball out of control due to destructive feedback loops.

Break the cycle by sharing your feelings and needs gently and clearly to feel connected and stop fighting.

Up Next

Does He Still Think About Her? 8 Signs Your Husband Misses His Affair Partner

Painfully Clear Signs Your Husband Misses His Affair Partner

Letโ€™s be realโ€”finding out that your husband has been having an affair is earth-shattering, to say the least. But you know what’s even worse than that? Seeing some heartbreaking signs your husband misses his affair partner.

If youโ€™ve noticed some changes in his behavior that leave you second-guessing where his heart really is, youโ€™re not alone.

When you start to spot some red flags that prove your husband hasn’t moved on from this extra marital dating, it can feel like twisting the knife, but being aware of these signs is the first step towards figuring out what to do next.

Let’s see which signs you need to watch out for.

Related:

Up Next

8 Essential Ingredients for a Thriving Relationship

Thriving Relationship: Essential Ingredients Building One

A thriving relationship doesn’t just happenโ€”itโ€™s built on key ingredients that make it strong and lasting.

Whether you’re looking for the ingredients of a healthy relationship or just some good relationship advice, understanding what truly makes a bond work is essential for creating a happy, healthy connection with your partner.

KEY POINTS

Evidence points to the correlation between an enduring, happy relationship and a periodic chuckle.

Neuroscience affirms that attention to gut instinct matters by enabling you to quickly assess a situation.

Relationships can be deep or wide, and each offers

Up Next

How to Regain Trust: 6 Steps to Heal After Betrayal

Happy Memories: Benefits Of Nostalgia

If you are wondering how to restore trust after betrayal, then you should know that it isnโ€™t easy, but itโ€™s totally possible if you’re ready to put in the work. It might take time, but with the right moves, you can rebuild what was broken and come out stronger. This article is going to explore six best ways to regain trust, and turn things around.

KEY POINTS

Those who trust others experience more meaningful relationships, greater self-esteem, and better work performance.

Those who lack trust tend to see others as a threat and the world as hostile.

The path to healing begins with compassion, self-care, journaling, motivational r