Why Are So Many Americans Single? : The New Yorker
Eric Klinenberg's "Going Solo" examines the dramatic rise of solo living in America—from four million people living alone in 1950 to thirty-one million today—and argues that this shift is not a social pathology but an inevitable result of mainstream liberal values like women's liberation, urbanization, technology, and increased longevity. Rather than portraying solitary life as uniformly isolating, Klinenberg's research reveals that people living alone experience complex emotional lives and often use autonomy as a tool for career advancement and personal development, though this individualism comes with a social cost: diminished civic participation and community bonds. The piece raises important questions about whether solo living benefits the individual while harming collective welfare, and suggests the real danger lies not in choosing to live alone but in being unprepared for crises like illness or aging without adequate support networks.