Is the US shifting toward being single?

The concept of monogamy came about when males needed to protect their infants from other males in ancestral groups. Monogamy has, for hundreds of years since, been seen as a “healthy estate”. A study in Britain conducted in the mid 1800’s concluded that married people were better off than their single counterparts. And indeed, even up until the end of the last century, in Corporate America, management preferred to have their executives “happily” married – it made for easier dinners, golf outings and the like, no matter the state of the marriage behind the patina. In fact, 50 years ago, unmarried Americans were not considered real adults!

But trends are shifting. In 2017 a record number of adults in the U.S. were not married – more than 110 million were divorced, widowed or always single: a staggering 45% of all Americans 18 or older.

Getting married is also trending older, as had been the case for decades – the median age of first marriages rose to 29.5 for men and 27.4 for women. The Pew Research Center predicts that by the time Gen X and Millennials reach 50 approximately 25% of them will have been single all their life. Canada is seeing the same trend with more people living in one-person households than in any other arrangement.

Being married just does not seem to be compelling to the millennial cohort – rather completing formal schooling and having a full- time job is more important. Remember this generation, along with their Gen Z cohort following, grew up with terror attacks, wars, the Great Recession – they also experienced seeing their parents lose their jobs and struggle financially.

And marriage does not equate to better health.  In a recent study conducted in the US, women who either stayed single instead of marrying or who got divorced instead of staying married had lower weight, better blood pressure, smoked and drank less, exercised more and had overall better eating habits.

In unprecedented numbers people are choosing to be single, living healthy and fulfilling lives.

Catherine Muriel is the Chief Marketing Officer of Net Impact.