Until fairly recently, being single held a certain amount of stigma. Women who did not marry were dubbed spinsters, and were described as 'left-on-the-shelf' if they were not yet married. Men fared slightly better as bachelors.
It's now becoming the norm for both men and women to chose to wait longer before settling down, mainly to concentrate on a their career and socialising. This is portrayed well in the film Bridget Jones' Diary.
While older members of your family may be pestering you on when you're going to settle down, if you're happy with your life then don't change it.
Benefits to being single:
- Being single is different for everyone. Try making a long list of all the things that make you happy, and make sure that you do at least some of them regularly.
- Stay in touch with your friends, keep all your lines of communication open, and get out and about.
- Don't rush into looking for someone new.
