Why The World Just Isn't Made for Singles

For some of us, being single isn’t the kiss of death. There are a growing number of adults who are perfectly happy with the single life. Whether it’s because they’ve been burned before, because of an introverted, independent personality, or just because they aren’t prioritizing relationships, some people do not need a partner in order to fulfill their lives.

Unfortunately, there are several ways in which this world isn’t made for the single person. These disadvantages can leave people who are perfectly happy unpartnered frustrated and unfulfilled. Here’s a list of seven of those issues.

1. People prioritize their partnerships over friends. It’s sad, but it’s true. When you reach a certain age, many of your friends will be partnered and they will prioritize their significant other over you. It’s not necessarily their fault, as society places a vast amount of significance upon husbands and wives, the nuclear family. Of course it’s possible to be coupled and have great friendships, but you will always feel as though you are the second, third or fifth most important thing in someone’s life.

2. Lack of support. Because your friends and family are often in romantic relationships, a single person often feels like they have nowhere to turn when things get rough. Who do you speak to when you’re down, or you had yet another crisis at work? Hopefully, you have a friends group to support you, or a mom who will always lend an ear, but the single person often feels like they have to handle their problems on their own too.

3. Everyone else is coupled. For some, this can lead to great despair, while it leaves others wondering where these couples came from! Even if you’re perfectly content being single, it’s easy to suddenly wonder what’s wrong with you. Is it normal to be perfectly content without someone? Is it wrong to not want that? Why does everyone else have someone?

4. Being single is expensive. Prepackaged foods aren’t made for a party of one, rent in many areas is so expensive that two incomes are a must, there are tax credits for married couples… Financial independence is a dream for many, and it’s hard not to wonder if it’d be easier if you weren’t doing it alone. How does a single girl afford to live her life when more than half her income is going towards having a place to live?

5. Many want to be parents. Just because you don’t have a spouse doesn’t mean that you don’t desire parenthood. A growing number of singles are choosing parenthood, but it’s a daunting task for someone to go at alone. Childcare alone is terrifying. How does a single work and raise a family on their own?

6. People always ask why. Once you hit your late-twenties, it starts to become a constant. Why are you still single? Why hasn’t some handsome man snapped you up? Why haven’t you met the girl of your dreams? When relationships are a given, being harassed about your single status is common. How many times do you have to say “oh I haven’t met anyone yet,” before they start to get it?

7. Single = Childish? This one is strange. Many people associate getting married, or at least being paired up as a sign that you’ve grown older. We think of older single women of as spinsters and too picky, immature for having standards about how they live their life. We often think of men who stay single too long of as commitment-phobic or childish.

Whatever a person’s reason for being single, the world is not always kind to those who enjoy it that way. It’s just another way of living life and in 2020 we should be open to all lifestyles.