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Posted on 11/06/2025 8:47:10 PM PST by SeekAndFind
For most of human history, coupling up was not merely a norm; it was a necessity. Before reliable contraception, women could not control their fertility, and most were far too poor to raise children alone. Hence the centuries-old convention that, whereas a tragic play or saga ends in death, a happy one ends in marriage.
So the speed with which the norm of marriage—indeed, of relationships of any sort—is being abandoned is startling. Throughout the rich world, singlehood is on the rise. Among Americans aged 25-34, the proportion living without a spouse or partner has doubled in five decades, to 50% for men and 41% for women. Since 2010, the share of people living alone has risen in 26 out of 30 rich countries. By The Economist’s calculation, the world has at least 100m more single people today than if coupling rates were still as high as in 2017. A great relationship recession is under way.
For some, this is evidence of social and moral decay. As we report, many in the “pro-natalist” movement believe that the failure of the young to settle down and procreate threatens to end Western civilisation. For others, it is evidence of admirable self-reliance. Vogue, a fashion magazine, recently suggested that for cool, ambitious young women, having a boyfriend is not merely unnecessary but “embarrassing”.
In fact, the rise of singlehood is neither straightforwardly good nor bad. Among heterosexuals (about whom there is the most research) it is largely a consequence of something clearly benign: as barriers to women in the workplace have fallen, their choices have expanded. They are far more able than in the past to live alone if they choose, and face less social stigma for doing so. The more they can support themselves financially, the less likely they are to put up with an inadequate or abusive partner. This shift has saved countless women from awful relationships, and forced many men to treat their mates better if they want to stay together.
However, it has also had unhappy knock-on effects. Flying solo can be liberating, but it can also be lonely. Plenty of singletons say they are content to remain so, especially women. But surveys in various countries suggest that 60-73% would rather be in a relationship. A poll in America in 2019 found that, although 50% of singles were not actively looking for a partner, only 27% said this was because they enjoyed being single. Many have given up, either because they despair of finding a mate, or because they don’t rate the mates on offer.
Some think social media and dating apps have fostered unrealistic expectations (other people’s relationships look fabulous on Instagram) and excessive pickiness (most women on Bumble reportedly insist that a male must be six feet tall, thus filtering out 85% of potential matches).
Another problem is the growing political gulf between young men and women, with the former leaning right and the latter leaning more to the left. Many singles insist that any partner must tick the same partisan boxes, which makes matching trickier.
Other experts point to a decline in social skills as people spend more of their lives gawping at screens. Americans of all ages socialise less in person than they did two decades ago, but the decline is especially steep among the young. Social media spread fears that women will be assaulted if they go out; and that men will be digitally shamed if a date goes badly.
Perhaps the most important factor is that, as living alone has become easier, women’s standards have grown more exacting. For many, a mediocre partner no longer seems a better bet than remaining single. Women are more likely than men to say that they want their mate to be well educated and financially solid. More men are failing to clear this moving bar, as they fall behind women educationally and the less bookish ones flounder in the job market. Men with no college degree and low earnings struggle to attract a partner; doubly so if they do not share domestic chores, or if after frequent rejection they start to dislike women, a common vice in the online “manosphere”.
Some of these problems may be self-correcting. One obvious idea is for men to grow up, do a little more housework, behave more responsibly and so turn themselves into more desirable partners. Cultural norms may impede this shift. But the prospect of avoiding lifelong loneliness and celibacy will surely serve as a powerful incentive for men to change. Many countries have been moving in this direction for years, with cleaning, cooking and child-minding more evenly split between men and women.
And yet, even in such enlightened spots as the Nordic countries, the trend towards singlehood shows no signs of abating. In Finland and Sweden roughly a third of adults live alone. At the very least, the shift is likely to exacerbate the already dramatic fall in global fertility, since single-parenting is hard and cultural taboos against it remain strong in many regions. Since young, single men commit more violent crimes, a less-coupled world could be more dangerous.
It is also possible that the relationship recession will not correct itself. A striking 7% of young singles say they would consider a robo-romance with an AI companion, and these lovebots will only get more sophisticated. AI, after all, is patient; AI is kind; it does not ask you to clean the bathroom or get a better job.
Many may worry that a world with fewer couples and children will be sadder and more atomised. Yet bemoaning the prospect will not avert it. And it is not the place of governments to overrule ordinary people’s preferences—though they should certainly try to tackle male underperformance in school. A future with far more singletons is coming. Everyone, from construction firms to the taxman, had better prepare. ■
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Watching Mr. Kevin Samuels educated me to the fact that there is, indeed, a sizable percentage of (Black) women who genuinely, ardently believe that they can "hoe around" during their twenties and early thirties, only to "turn open the faucet" at, say, 35 - and the eager, marriage-minded men will simply start flowing. A lot of them called into Mr. Kevin Samuels, explaining that their "grand strategy" was to simply wait until their underage bastards graduated from high school and moved out and then to "re-enter" the dating market - whereupon they would, of course, enjoy the same, high level of attention as they did in their late teens. These women steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that, meanwhile, their SMV has plummeted.
A great many women regard men as nothing more than a utility - like the lights, gas, or water, which they can flick on and off at will.
Regards,
If it results in the collapse of Western civilization, it is clearly not "benign."
I highly doubt that the author of this article would likewise describe men's "expanded choices" to forego feminine companionship and instead, e.g., amuse themselves, sitting in their mothers' basements, munching Cheetos and playing computer games as "clearly benign."
Regards,
1. No tats.
2. No nose rings.
3. For that matter, no grotesque piercings of any sort. Tasteful earrings are ok.
4. No obese. Obesity is grotesque and repellent. And smelly, too
5. No weird hair coloring.
6. No weird hair styles. Be feminine, ffs.
7. No bad teeth.
8. No hairy armpits, I mean, really.
9. No stink. I don't so you don't either.
10. No feminists, liberals, commies, socialists or other spiteful mutants.
11. Vegans are right out. Not going to squabble over food. I loves me a good New York Peppercorn, medium rare accompanied by a good ale. Or two. Burp.
12. No anti-gun/anti-self-defense hysterics.
13. No illiterates/semi literates. Where is your book and music library? Huh?
14. Hate Trump? Dialtone to you.
How am I doing so far?
Call it “The Great Degeneration Of Society’’.
The Economist is Rothschild-owned globalist propaganda. Here pretending that this change wasn’t planned and orchestrated by 80 years of globalist, anti-Western civ propaganda. They don’t want more marriages and babies among the stinking masses any more than they want fewer trans story-telling hours at the local library.
So many women I know have worthless jerks for husbands..she earns the money and he does off again on again jobs..who needs that?.....
No tattoos
(Here pretending that this change wasn’t planned and orchestrated by 80 years of globalist, anti-Western civ propaganda)
👍👍
The Rothschilds, the Builderbergers. All one and the same.
And we have government school to make sure that a society where people adhere to different religious teachings cannot continue naturally because that would just be too dangerous ??????
Outstanding rumination.
And you’ve got Thiel (IIRC Karp too) on the board of the Bs.
Bfl
Liberal satanism in full view
Another solution would be for younger women to get real with themselves for a change and realize that if they themselves are nowhere near the top 20% of all women in attractiveness, they are highly unlikely to get a man in the top 20% of attractiveness. Realizing that their youth is THE single most valuable asset that they have and that their own value on the dating market declines drastically as soon as their youth is gone (ie their 20s) and that therefore if they want to find a man and have a family, getting serious about settling down in their 20s instead of thinking they can wait until their 30s to do so is another obvious idea.
Of course, that would necessarily mean straight up rejecting decades of feminazi dogma which routinely gives women the most self destructive advice possible. It would also mean rejecting the propaganda put out by Hollywood and the Corporate Media. The self destructive advice taught by feminism and the result of women following this advice is why women report themselves as being far less happy than women 50-60 years ago reported themselves as being.
Feminism actively encourages women to waste their youth hoe-ing around or in school. Far FAR too many women do not recognize the value of their youth until its far too late. Because male attention comes to them early in their lives without them having to really work for it, too many of them take it for granted. They start thinking they really are that sexy or fun to be with and that "there will always be another" when in reality that just ain't so. In the old days, their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc used to set them straight...telling them not to waste their youth, that they needed to find a good man, that they need to put more emphasis on finding a man who would be a good and loyal partner was vastly more important than find one who was 6 feet tall or finding one who was responsible was more important than finding one who got a piece of paper from a university.
That's gone now. Now their influences are Hollywood, TV programs, things they read in places like Vogue magazine, etc and those influences are steeped in feminism. Many do not realize they've been sold on a pack of lies that will lead to their unhappiness until they find themselves in their early to mid 30s and discover that men just aren't pursuing them anymore...ie that they're not that sexy or fun to be with (any more). Then they get very bitter and angry about it. Usually that's directed at all men in general. It should be directed at the people who told them those self destructive feminist lies in the first place.
With the shutdown the govt. no longer provides ‘single mothers’ thousands of dollars per month in food and housing benefits for keeping fathers out of their homes and their children’s lives.
She gonna have to have Pookie or RayRay get a job and move in to support her and her kids. And maybe lose a few hundred pounds too.
Gee, what man doesn’t want to lose half his assets, his house, his children and pay a salary to his Ex for cheating?
Misogynists?
“Some of these problems may be self-correcting. One obvious idea is for men to grow up, do a little more housework, behave more responsibly and so turn themselves into more desirable partners. “
Ugh stay single men..
Coincidentally...euthanasia is becoming more acceptable. There will be a lot of unloved elderly people lying around, in a few decades. “Draining our resources,” as they say.
Right now they are all for their careers and travel and...stuff. Making families — what a bother! It creates limitations, who wants that? /S
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