1. The documentary gave many reasons, both anecdotal and factual, for singlehood in America today. One reason is that we now live longer than we used to, which can give rise to many other reasons for singlehood in America. Fear of commitment was also given as a reason for being single, one person said that 60 years married to someone is longer than some murder charges. Another reason is instead of marrying in their 20’s or early 30’s people are now waiting to get married later in life.
The documentary also proposed that our society is so fast paced that when people don’t get instant gratification when looking for a partner that they break up. The media also portrays relationships as perfect which gives people the idea their search for a partner will be just as easy and once in a relationship will be perfect, just as they saw in their romance shows or novels. Finally, the researchers also suggest that because women’s rights and roles have changed significantly that it has resulted in more single people than in past years.
2. There are many ways the relationship between the increase in singlehood and the trend toward delayed marriage show up. One such reason there is a relationship between the increase in singlehood and the trend toward delaying marriage is the fact that we are waiting longer to get married. Because we are waiting longer to get married it means that more people are single for a longer amount of time. Another relationship is that people no longer follow a guideline to how they should live their life and when they should do certain things like go to college, get married, and have kids.
People can now choose to do things at different times in their lives so, for example, they can get a job before they go college or they can have a child before they get married and not feel the need to get married. People also must go further out of their way to find a suitable mate who wants to get married. In conclusion, since there are many reasons people are waiting to get married it results in an increase of people being single. 3. The trends in America regarding singlehood are not specific to America and are instead happening internationally.
Globally, more people are spending more time outside of marriage. In places like Japan the age at which people marry is even higher than in America. The higher age at which Japanese people mare can be attributed to their society’s negative views of divorced mothers and children born out of wedlock. Some other trends are changes in gender roles and age relations. Gender roles are also changing the world over with women gaining more rights and different societal roles. Men are also experiencing changes in what is considered to be their social role and no longer hold as much power of women as they used to.
Ultimately, these trends regarding singlehood are not happening only in America, but are instead part of a global change. 4. I do believe that we live in a coupled world as opposed to a singles world. One such example that we live in a coupled world is the holiday called Valentine’s day. Valentine’s day is a holiday built around couples and is simply not meant for people that are not in a relationship. Media, whether it is the internet, books, or television shows, often involve people being in a relationship or a romance of some kind.
Single people have social pressure to find a partner by a certain age and another age at which to be married. Once a person hits a certain age, then the person, if not in a relationship, will be bombarded with questions from family and friends alike asking if they have found anyone. Most people who are single also don’t do certain recreational activities such as going to see a movie due to the social stigma that a person who is at the movies by themselves has no friends which means that he or she is weird.
To finish, I believe that we do live in a coupled world because single people have entire holidays in which they cannot participate and have social pressure to find a partner. 5. There are many ways that the changing roles and rights of women relate to the prevalence of singlehood in our society. One such way is that in the past women were often dependent on the man for finical support. Now with it being more acceptable for women to work, women now can not only support themselves, they can also support any offspring they decide to bring into the world without being dependent on the man to support the family.
Most people in our society are heterosexual, so if women are not trying to find a relationship and support the burden that it brings then it will increase the number of singles. There are many reasons why a woman might not want to find a relationship, one of which is work. Since women can now find work and successfully advance in their job women can opt to devote their time and themselves to their job instead of a relationship. In conclusion, I believe that the social acceptance toward women working has played a large part in the increase of single people.
6. Single people have a profound impact on our economy. The marriage industry can include bakeries for wedding cakes, bridal shops who give brides the perfect dress, and restaurants which cater the wedding reception and rehearsal dinner. If people are not marrying, then that means that the marriage industry is losing customers and in turn are losing customers and more importantly, money. Single people also don’t spend as much money on holidays. During Christmas, single people don’t have to get as many gifts as a person in a relationship which can lead to businesses, both local and national, losing out on more money.
Single people also don’t celebrate Valentine’s day because they are not in a relationship which means that they are not buying chocolate or flowers leading up to the fourteenth of February. However, single people are more apt to spend money on themselves, which can include supporting their hobbies such as travel or mountain biking. Because single people are more likely to spend money on themselves the business that sell the products to their hobby will find increased sales. In conclusion, single people negatively affect some forms of our economy while they support others.
7. I do think that the media can negatively affect people’s ability to find a partner. TV shows often show people either being a perfect couple or the show is in the process of making two people the perfect couple. This in turn gives many people a false view on how a person is supposed to find a relationship and how a relationship works. The researchers in the documentary described it as the Snow-White effect where, especially women, believe that they are supposed to find the perfect man walking down the street and fall helplessly in love and live the rest of their lives together.
That scenario is very unlikely to play out, but some people still think that is how people meet and, more importantly, how they will find a partner. TV shows and especially porn often show extremely attractive people which end up affecting what a person believes to be the perfect mate. Ultimately, I believe that unrealistic relationships shown in the media does make it harder for a person to find a partner
8. While there are many reasons that can be attributed to the rise in singlehood, I believe that the fact the we are living longer best explains why more people are single and gives rise to other reasons why there is an increase in singlehood. Because people are living longer than they used to, it means that they have more time to live which leads people to marry later in life. One such reason people marry later in life is because they are focused on themselves in their twenty’s and even their thirty’s instead of focusing on building a relationship with another person.
Since people now lives well into their 70’s and 80’s it means that people who marry young will be with their partner for a long time. This then leads to people being afraid to commit to a relationship when they are young because the marriage may last for quite a long time. As one person in the documentary pointed out, marrying someone can now last for up to 60 years which can be longer than some people serve in prison for murdering someone. In the end, I believe that our increasing life span is the source for the reasons more people are deciding to stay single.