Single in a Pandemic: Not the Same Old Stories

What does it mean to be single in this world-historic time of illness, death, and physical separation from other humans?

Here I’ve collected stories and analyses from around the world (including my own) that transcend the predictable deficit narratives of single life. As Ginny Hogan noted, when writing for the Atlantic about those who are a little too quick to pity single people, “The problem arises when coupled people assume that all single people are miserable, rather than determining which of their friends actually need their support.”

Some single people are not just surviving, they are thriving.

Single People Living Alone (and with Others): How Are We Doing, Really?

During the pandemic, people who are single at heart have been thriving.

In one story after another about the pandemic, single people have been described as miserable and lonely. That pity is misplaced when it comes to people who are single at heart.

How the pandemic created a cohort of secure single people.

They didn’t want to stay single. Then the pandemic happened, and they discovered something they may never have realized otherwise — single life really suited them.