Ernest's Entry On Singlehood

Are All singles Unhappy?
My entry has references to a Times magazine article found in: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997804,00.html
Retrieved on 30/1/08. 8.50 p.m.

Singlehood is fundamentally a cost of human progress and the constant desire to attain higher intellectual or spiritual achievement. Of course, there are more effects that progress causes, but singlehood shows a distinct lack of desire to follow nature's course and settle down, which then indicates an evolution in lifestyle.
People have created an entire system, in general, that can afford to exclude the prospect of marriage.Whether it is the entertainment and tourism industry, the media or work fulfillment etc, people have basically all the things they want to do in the world and all the reasons to regard marriage as the rhetorical "been there, done that" relationship.To elaborate, I refer to the Time article, stating that " I've finally matured enough to acknowledge that there's more to life than being married." People have moved beyond the goal of marriage, simply because they no longer place emphasis on marriage as what they have to achieve in life. People can still be successful and happy while completely bypassing marriage in their lives.Thus, people have not only made happiness despite singlehood possible, but probably even attractive.
I think that as society progresses, the "bar" or "level" of what we perceive as perfection rises indefinitely. People then tend to be very selective or even exclusive of almost every aspect of their lives. People not only want to find that artificially conceptualised, media tarnished version of a "soulmate" , but are also not prepared to invest in the time taken to find that person. Time must now be spent on what is most worth spending on. Happiness then comes from attaining what is the closest to perfection, with singlehood opening a way to do this and marriage more of a hindrance.
The society has also elevated the status of "friends" . Friends are in abundance, are easy to be around, are immune to "infidelity" and can be changed like clothing. Friends are convenient, and this idea has been irrevocably "marketed" to us in an increasingly liberal world. Why worry about staying monogamous when you can enjoy vacations, all-nighters and meeting new people on a daily basis?
Singlehood is an alternative or a substitute to happiness that is found in a healthy, thriving marriage.It is subjected to the individual's perception of happiness, but , in realistic terms, really allows one to experience so much more of the world in his or her own way without being tied down.Either way, singlehood is a great example to illustrate how diverse the human race is and how the pursuit of happiness often allows our paths to cross.Singles aren't unhappy, they just think differently from couples.