In legal definitions for interpersonal status, a person who is single is an individual not in a committed relationship, married, or part of a civil union.
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: 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.
Women typically value friendships over romantic relationships; many continue to have jobs and marry later, or forego marriage completely.
[15] In South Korea an unofficial holiday called Black Day is observed on 14 April each year by and for single people.
The term sheng nu is used to describe unmarried women who are in mid to late twenties in China and East Asia.
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.
[23] 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%.
[24] Paul Dolan, professor in behavorial 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.
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.
However, dating via religious-sponsored singles events has also been criticized for fostering invasion of daters' privacy and undue expectations.
There is a whole industry dedicated to making unsolicited telephone calls to this group in the hope of exploiting the ones who cannot distinguish between the honest and the dishonest.