The number of middle aged people living alone has soared by a third in the past decade, with singles making up 29% of Britain’s 26m households.
Home editor Mark Easton explained that an extra half a million of 45 to 64-year-olds were now living on their own.
The reasons behind the trend were both the demographic bulge caused by the baby boomer generation, but also the dramatic drop in marriage and co-habitation.
Goodness gracious, what generalizations! Yes, there is a higher percentage of older singles these days but that doesn’t mean we’re all lonely, depressed, and unhealthy because of it! We have friends, family, hobbies, talents, all sorts of things that keep us connected — so, not to worry, Big Brother!
Happy singles are healthier and less depressed than unhappy marrieds — why not go after the unhappy marrieds, instead? Do you want a REAL cost to society? Unhappy marriages cause that in spades, from depression to domestic violence to addictions to kids who have to be removed from their homes and enter care. But the government should push marriage on singles so we’re not a burden? Please.
I’ve long been disgusted with how singles are treated by society and even the church but this is a new low. It makes us sound as if we’re all pathetic and anti-social when that is rarely the case. But we do tend to live simply and aren’t large consumers of goods — hmmm, maybe that’s the government’s problem with us?
The real cost of high rates of singleness among 20- and 30-somethings is demographic implosion. The demographic winter that is overtaking all of Europe, East and West, could quite likely destroy the region economically, unless there is massive immigration–which will destroy it culturally.
So, yeah, get married, raise larger families. Don’t settle for less than 3 children. And give your children nice young, energetic parents.