onesacrowd单人成群.docx

onesacrowd单人成群.docx

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One’saCrowd

Published:

February4,2012

MOREpeoplelivealonenowthanatanyothertimeinhistory.InprosperousAmericancities—Atlanta,Denver,Seattle,SanFranciscoandMinneapolis—40percentormoreofallhouseholdscontainasingleoccupant.InManhattanandinWashington,nearlyoneintwohouseholdsareoccupiedbyasingleperson.

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SoloinAmerica

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MoreonTheirOwnHere,andEvenMoreAbroad

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PercentageofHouseholdsWithOnlyOneOccupant

Byinternationalstandards,thesenumbersaresurprising—surprisinglylow.InParis,thecityoflovers,morethanhalfofallhouseholdscontainsinglepeople,andinsocialistStockholm,theratetops60percent.

Thedecisiontolivealoneiscommonindiversecultureswheneveritiseconomicallyfeasible.AlthoughAmericanspridethemselvesontheirself-relianceandcultureofindividualism,Germany,FranceandBritainhaveagreaterproportionofone-personhouseholdsthantheUnitedStates,asdoesJapan.Threeofthenationswiththefastest-growingpopulationsofsinglepeople—China,IndiaandBrazil—arealsoamongthosewiththefastestgrowingeconomies.

Themerethoughtoflivingaloneoncesparkedanxiety,dreadandvisionsofloneliness.Butthoseimagesaredated.Nowthemostprivilegedpeopleonearthusetheirresourcestoseparatefromoneanother,tobuyprivacyandpersonalspace.

Livingalonecomportswithmodernvalues.Itpromotesfreedom,personalcontrolandself-realization—allprizedaspectsofcontemporarylife.

Itislessfeared,too,forthecrucialreasonthatlivingalonenolongersuggestsanisolatedorless-sociallife.Afterinterviewingmorethan300singletons（mytermforpeoplewholivealone）duringnearlyadecadeofresearch,I’veconcludedthatlivingaloneseemstoencouragemore,notless,socialinteraction.

Paradoxically,ourspecies,solongdefinedbygroupsandbythenuclearfamily,hasbeenabletoembarkonthisexperimentinsololivingbecauseglobalsocietieshavebecomesointerdependent.Dynamicmarkets,flourishingcitiesandopencommunicationssystemsmakemodernautonomymoreappealing;theygiveusthecapacitytolivealonebuttoengagewithotherswhenandhowwewanttoandonourownterms.

Infact,livingalonecanmakeiteasiertobesocial,becausesinglepeoplehavemorefreetime,absentfamilyobligations,toengageinsocialactivities.

Comparedwiththeirmarriedcounterparts,singlepeoplearemorelikelytospendtimewithfriendsandneighbors,gotorestaurantsandattendartclassesandlectures.Thereismuchresearchsuggestingthatsinglepeoplegetoutmore—andnotonlytheyoungerones.ErinCornwell,asociologistatCornell,analyzedresultsfromtheGeneralSocialSurvey（whichdrawsonanationallyrepresentativesampleoftheUnitedStatespopulation）from2000to2008andfoundthatsinglepeople35andolderweremorelikelythanthosewholivedwithaspouseoraromanticpartnertospendasocialeveningwithneighborsorfriends.In2008,herhusband,BenjaminCornwell（alsoasociologistatCornell）,wasleadauthorof“TheSocialConnectednessofOlderAdults,”apaperintheAmericanSociologicalReviewthatshowedthatsingleseniorshadthesamenumberoffriendsandcorediscussionpartnersastheirmarriedpeersandweremorelikelytosocializewithfriendsandneighbors.

SURVEYS,somebymarketresearchcompaniesthatstudybehaviorforclientsdevelopingproductsandservices,alsoindicatethatmarriedpeoplewithchildrenaremorelikelythansinglepeopletohunkerdownathome.Thoseinlargesuburbanhomesoftensplinterintoprivateroomstobealone.Theimageofamodernfamilyinaroomtogether,eachpluggedintoaseparatereality,beitasmartphone,computer,videogameorTVshowhasbecomeaculturalcliché.

Newcommunicationstechnologiesmakelivingaloneasocialexperience,sobeinghomealonedoesnotfeelinvoluntaryorlikesolitaryconfinement.Thepersonaloneathomecandigitallynavigatethroughaworldofpeople,informationandideas.Internetusedoesnotseemtocutpeopleofffromrealfriendshipsandconnections.

ThePewInternetPersonalNetworksandCommunitySurvey—anationallyrepresentativesurveyof2,512Americanadultsconductedin2008thatwasthefirsttoexaminehowtheInternetandcellphonesaffectourcoresocialnetworks—showsthatWebusecanleadtomoresociallife,ratherthantoless.“SocialIsolationandNewTechnology,”writtenbytheRutgersUniversitycommunicationsscholarKeithHampton,revealsthatheavyusersaremorelikelythanotherstohavelargeanddiversesocialnetworks;morelikelytovisitparks,cafesandrestaurants;andmorelikelytomeetdiversepeoplewithdifferentperspectivesandbeliefs.

TodayfivemillionpeopleintheUnitedStatesbetweenages18and34livealone,10timesmorethanin1950.Butthelargestnumberofsinglepeoplearemiddle-aged;15millionpeoplebetweenages35and64livealone.Thosewhodecidetolivealonefollowingabreakuporadivorcecouldchoosetomoveinwithroommatesorfamily.ButmanyofthoseIinterviewedsaidtheychosetolivealonebecausetheyhadfoundtherewasnothingworsethanlivingwiththewrongperson.

Inmyinterviews,oldersinglepeopleexpressedaclearpreferenceforlivingalone,whichallowedthemtoretaintheirfeelingsofindependenceandintegrity,andaclearaversiontomovinginwithfriendsorfamilyorintoanursinghome.

Multimedia

Graphic

SoloinAmerica

Graphic

MoreonTheirOwnHere,andEvenMoreAbroad

InteractiveMap

PercentageofHouseholdsWithOnlyOneOccupant

AccordingtoresearchbytheRutgerssociologistDeborahCarr,at18monthsafterthedeathofaspouse,onlyoneinfourelderlymenandoneinsixelderlywomensaytheyareinterestedinremarrying;oneinthreemenandoneinsevenwomenareinterestedindatingsomeday;andonlyoneinfourmenandonein11womenareinterestedindatingimmediately.

Mostolderwidows,widowersanddivorcedpeopleremaketheirlivesassinglepeople.Acenturyago,nearly70percentofelderlyAmericanwidowslivedwithachild;today—thankstoSocialSecurity,privatepensionsandwealthgeneratedinthemarket—just20percentdo.AccordingtotheU.C.L.A.economistKathleenMcGarry:

“Whentheyhavemoreincomeandtheyhaveachoiceofhowtolive,theychoosetolivealone.Theybuytheirindependence.”

Someunhealthyoldpeopledobecomedangerouslyisolated,asIlearnedwhenIresearchedmybookaboutthehundredsofpeoplewhodiedaloneinthe1995Chicagoheatwave,andtheydeservemoreattentionandsupportthanwegivethemtoday.Buttheriseofagingaloneisalsoasocialachievement.Thesustainedhealth,wealthandvitalitythatsomanypeopleoverage65enjoyallowthemtomaintaindomesticindependencefarlongerthanpreviousgenerationsdid.What’snewtodayisthatthegreatmajorityofolderwidows,widowersanddivorcedpeoplepreferlivingalonetotheirotheroptions,andthey’rewillingtospendmoreonhousinganddomestichelpfortheprivilege.Somepunditspredictedthatratesoflivingalonewouldplummetbecauseofthechallengedeconomy:

youngpeoplewouldmoveintotheirparents’basements;middle-agedadultswouldputoffdivorceorseparationforfinancialreasons;theelderlywouldmoveinwiththeirchildrenratherthanholdontoplacesoftheirown.

Thusfar,however,there’slittleevidencethatthishashappened.True,moreyoungadultshavemovedinwiththeirparentsbecausetheycannotfindgoodjobs;buttheproportionofthosebetween20and29wholivealonewentdownonlyslightly,from11.97percentin2007to10.94percentin2011.Inthegeneralpopulation,livingalonehasbecomemorecommon—inabsoluteandproportionalterms.Thelatestcensusreportestimatesthatmorethan32millionAmericanslivealonetoday,upfrom27.2millionin2000and31millionin2010.

Allsignssuggestthatlivingalonewillbecomeevenmorecommoninthefuture,ateverystageofadulthoodandineveryplacewherepeoplecanaffordaplaceoftheirown.