Table for one

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Not married? Congratulations. You are part of a growing and empowered community of singles who are increasingly content to live without a partner.

JWT Intelligence has delved into this group in its report The Single Age. Inspiration for the study came from observations made during recent research into ‘The New Adulthood’ (individuals aged between 30 and 45 ), which revealed that a substantial portion of the millennial demographic have built their lives around being joyfully single.

This isn’t limited to millennials, however; the single lifestyle is finding favour across generations – as we found after surveying 3,000 people of different ages in the US, the UK and China.

Singlehood comes in many different shapes and sizes, so JWT Intelligence surveyed those who have been widowed and those who are divorced but have children, as well as young, free and single individuals. For a full representation of attitudes towards being single across wider society, the research also included those who are married or in a committed relationship.

While relationship status can be a highly personal and often touchy subject, we found that both single and committed respondents were eager to confide. Across the board, people were open about their experiences, and happy to have a platform to express their thoughts on singledom and the shifting values around relationship status.

In the east, despite heightened pressure to get married and start a family, Chinese singles are just as happy in their singlehood as their western counterparts. Almost two-thirds ( 63%) of single Chinese respondents said they love being single, compared with 60% in the UK and 64% in the US. That’s not the same as preferring to be single, however. When asked whether they agreed with the statement ‘I prefer being single to being in a relationship’, China scored lowest at 50%, compared with 53% in the UK and 58% in the US.

The language used around being single in the east has traditionally been derogatory. In China, single females can be labelled ‘leftover women’ and Japanese singles are sometimes called ‘loser dogs’ – a term popularised by a bestselling book by Junko Sakai.

Meanwhile, the phrase ‘bare branches’ is used to describe Chinese men who can’t find a wife because of the gender imbalance that resulted from the one-child policy. This is changing, and brands are helping to celebrate singledom through events such as Alibaba’s Singles’ Day – now the world’s biggest one-day shopping event – inviting single people to enjoy their independent status.

Of the countries studied, the Chinese are by far the most traditional in their approach to relationships, possibly because society still pressures them to be that way. More than half ( 56%) of Chinese singles surveyed agreed that being in a relationship makes them feel ‘complete’, compared with 43% in the US.

At the same time, however, the Chinese approach to relationships is more pragmatic than romantic, with only 76% of single respondents there agreeing that they ‘believe in love’, compared with 85% of Americans and Brits.

Societal pressures and stigmas are less extreme in the west, where there has been a big cultural shift in the portrayal of singles in the media. Love Island might be all about coupling up, but every contestant enters the show as a strong single person – and, let’s face it, they are likely to be single again soon.

Both singles and couples in the west have different ideas about money compared with their Chinese counterparts. ‘I spend to treat myself’ is a motivation for just 40% of singles in China – only a slight difference from the 36% of Chinese respondents in couples who say they spend to treat themselves. In contrast, Brits and Americans face a bigger change in spending habits when they are in relationships: 64% of singles in the US and 61% in the UK say they spend to treat themselves, compared with only 39% and 43% respectively of those in couples.

The research found that the way people experience adulthood uncoupled has evolved, with a pivotal turn away from outdated assumptions. People are embracing the joys and freedoms of being single, rather than seeing it as a state in search of completion. As a result, consumers are pushing back against patronising marketing narratives that do not frame their experience as it is – something rewarding and fulfilling.

The rise of singles generally sits within a wider trend in which life stages, family units, and personal networks are becoming more fluid and individual. If one thing is certain, it’s that one no longer needs to be the loneliest number.

Wunderman Thompson’s in-house data unit, Sonar, surveyed more than 3,000 respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom and China for the research. It surveyed the general population with a boost for single respondents to ensure it had sufficient base sizes to compare responses from single and committed respondents.

It’s easy to be single: 

74% of US singles and 83% of Chinese singles agree it’s now easier than ever to be single

Pets v children: 

84% of US 18- to 34-year-olds agree that pets are like de facto children for some people and 71% agree that society places too much emphasis on the idea that you need to have a family to feel fulfilled

Media portrayals: 

Less than a quarter ( 22%) of US singles think the media portrayals of singlehood are happy; 44% think they are portrayed as lonely and 46% as independent

Emma Chiu is creative innovation director at JWT Intelligence at Wunderman Thompson