On

The Phenomenon of Being Single
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The Phenomenon of Being Single
THE CASE
Over the years, the household has been changing, and the idealized concept of the extended family will become a thing of the past. Not only are many families arranged in a non-traditional manner but youngsters have a high likelihood to be brought up by single parents. There has been a rise in the number of adults living alone over the years and the trend is expected to rise. At some point, the situation has been taken to be something strange, but as years progressed and numbers increase, people have embraced it. Being single in this era is seen as something natural. This paper reviews three articles that discuss matters regarding being single, the trends, reasons why the numbers of single individuals rise every single day and compare the patterns to the past. The paper will also discuss the proportion of single individuals as per race and analyze the reasons for being single per race.
As per Public Radio International (PRI), there are about 124.6 million Americans who are single, and this is nearly 50.2 percent (Rao and Raphael 2014). The proportion was about 22% in the 1950s and 37.4 percent in 1976. This means the trend has been changing at alarming rates in spite of the emergence of online dating sites which would have made some difference. According to Stephanie Hanes, the author of “Singles nation: Why so many Americans are unmarried,” the shift observed is because of cultural changes.

As per this author, this is an era when folks concentrate more on their personal fulfillment as well as their studies. As per sociologists, they work late hours, go out for dinner, and chose networks of friends that are at times referred to “dubbed tribes” (Hanes, 2015). Whereas much research has been conducted in this area, with concern about increased immaturity amongst American adults, numerous researchers who study singles designate that the group is a remedy to cultural anxiety: the deterioration of the society.
Percentages of Singles According to Race
When it comes to different races, it seems studies have focused more on the black community. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 72 percent of children who are black are from single families. This number comprises women who live with their minor’s fathers. The same study pointed out that approximately 70% of black women live alone, meaning they are single. As per scholars, the reason why many blacks are single is due to the war on drugs that took place sometime back. A high number of black men were imprisoned between 1980 and 2000, and this leads to an increase in the number of black females between the ages of 35 (Anon, 2007). There is a lot of confusion here as other individuals view old welfare policies as responsible for this numbers since it punished men who stayed at home without jobs. Other studies noted that black females are more educated when compared to black males, and claims that these women are unenthusiastic to marry unlearned men.
Metro.uk supports above results that the highest number of singles come from the black community although the values given out are lower which might be due differences in years research was carried out. From this source, 10 percent of Indians are single while the proportion of whites is 22%. Other races which were considered include Pakistanis (13 percent), Bangladeshis (12 percent), and Chinese (15 percent) (Metrowebukmetro, 2007).The number of children from single families as per various races supports this statistics. The black community had 73 percent of children from single families, followed by 66% from American Indians and Alaskans. The third is Hispanics with 53 percent while Non-Hispanic whites and Asian American follows at a distance, with 29 and 17 percent respectively (Anon, 2007).
ANALYSIS
The three articles are in line and agree when it comes to some aspects but are opposite in others. According to PRI, social media is to blame for increased cases of individuals being single. The online dating sites and online media as a whole have given individuals a choice than before, and this encourages and drives them away from marrying (Rao and Raphael 2014). It ensures that individuals have many and different options and it’s easy to detect weaknesses of individuals. Since all individuals have flaws, it becomes difficult for individuals to pick one and this forces them to have all of them. In the long run, many of them remain single. Metro.uk points out that most individuals chose to remain alone so that they gain control of their space and time (freedom). The article goes ahead and states that marriage sometimes is an expensive institution and some folks remain single to avoid expenses.
While the articles differ in some parts, it agrees in some aspects. All of them agree that the blacks have high rates of single individuals followed by American Indians and Alaskans while non-Hispanic whites being the last. Reasons that make many individuals choose to be single vary as per the article, but some of them are same. The entire review of the articles creates a picture that as many individuals choose to be single, the rates of individuals cohabiting becomes widespread. As per census bureau, the rate of cohabitation is approximately double what it was in the 1990s. According to a new investigation, 44 percent of adults and over half of those between the ages of 30 and 49 have cohabited at least once in the lives. Because of this, the number of children born out of wedlock is rising. The numbers are expected to increase as people seem to no longer respect or treasure marriage than before.
CONCLUSION
Although many individuals choose to be single, most of them still view marriage as a gift and necessity. The same case applies to the secular group since matrimony as an institution has been seen from the ancient times, as an assurance of social steadiness; something intertwined into the fabric of the society. All in all, marriage will remain to be an extremely valued institution even if it plays a little role in the lives of individuals than the way it was in the past. Various studies have pointed out different reasons regarding the concept of marriage, but many of them have found that it increases health, wealth, longevity as well as the quality of life. In the US and other parts of the world, individuals who are in marriage have been found to provide the most stable and long-lasting family structure for their kids than single individuals. This analysis supports what I have learned in class: the trends that most individuals prefer to be single than being married. This, according to my reasoning is because of changing lifestyles, priorities and other aspects of life such as the economy. All play a role in this phenomenon.

References
Anon. 2007. “Race Divide On Single Parents | Metro News.” Metro.co.uk. Retrieved January 22, 2018 (http://metro.co.uk/2007/04/10/race-divide-on-single-parents-251523/).
Hanes, Stephanie. 2015. “Singles Nation: Why So Many Americans Are Unmarried.” The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 22, 2018 (https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2015/0614/Singles-nation-Why-so-many-Americans-are-unmarried).
Rao, Mythili, and Raphael. 2014. “Singles Now Outnumber Married People In America — And That’s A Good Thing.” Public Radio International. Retrieved January 22, 2018 (https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-14/singles-now-outnumber-married-people-america-and-thats-good-thing).