This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

So, Being Single Right Now Might Not Suck As Much As You Think

Some would argue it makes you a better partner in the future.
Cheers to that.
Warner Bros
Cheers to that.

In case you somehow missed the florally piles of 'love' in the mailroom at lunch or scrolled past the mushy couple pics in your feed -- it's Valentine's Day -- a day that for some of us, serves only as a reminder of our loneliness.

But while it may seem like everyone in your life is coupled up right now, statistically speaking, singledom is actually on the rise in Australia.

According to the ABS by 2030, 30 per cent of all households in this country will be single person households. So are we choosing to be alone? Or is the world just becoming crueler?

It's a question SBS's 'Insight' is asking a handful of Aussies on Tuesday night when it explores whether being single is down to circumstance, our dwindling attention span or because maybe, just maybe, being alone is actually pretty great.

"The social stigma of 'being alone' is becoming less and less and with that comes more choices that people just didn't have available to them before," Dr Dain Heer, relationship expert, author and co-creator of global community, Access Consciousness told The Huffington Post Australia.

According to Heer, while it may seem like people are less willing to 'go deep' instead choosing to simply 'swipe left' and disregard a potential relationship, in the long run, these longer periods of singledom may actually be a good thing.

"Now that the choice of being single is no longer something that's viewed as wrong, societally people will actually get in touch with themselves enough to find out what they truly desire," Heer said.

You know, rather than just being with someone for their impressive social media following.

And if what they truly desire happens to eventually be a relationship, then they will make it greater than it was ever able to be before.

"With the advent of social media and different forms of interaction, today people have a much wider base of connection and support with people," Heer said.

This social support system isn't necessarily supplanting the relationship, but contributing to the fact that people feel less need to have one (thank you Netflix for this gift).

"We're at the beginning of a different cycle where this trend towards singledom is being accepted," Heer said.

Heer explains what we're probably going to see after that is a trend towards really solid relationships that don't have to separate.

What that means: no more second wedding presents and awkward Facebook memories.

"Perhaps that 50 percent divorce rate in the western world will start changing, too," Heer said.

How's that for a silver lining? Champagne for everyone, we say!

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