As marriage equality has evolved over the last year we have become wildly aware of one overlooked group: The Single. It's official. The nuclear family has had a meltdown. In the last decade Single households have increased by 30% worldwide. By 2020 there will be 331 million single households globally. The US will lead with 36.3 million followed by Japan, 31.6 million, and China, 18.2 million. Singles come from every nationality, age demographic, religion, sexual orientation and gender. But they have one thing in common. Living uncomfortable and ignored in a married person’s world. In 2013, it’s changing on every level.
1. T H E R I S E O F T H E S O L O C I T I Z E N 2013
A FAITH POPCORN PREDICTION WWW.FAITHPOPCORN.COM
2. T H E R I S E O F T H E S O L O C I T I Z E N 2013
A FAITH POPCORN PREDICTION WWW.FAITHPOPCORN.COM
SOLOHOMES
SINGLE HOUSEHOLDS RISE
householdofone
331 MILLION SOLO HOMES BY 2020
B Y 3 0 % O V E R PA S T D E C A D E • 36.3 MIL IN U.S.
• 3 1 . 6 M I L I N J A PA N
singleSENIORS • 18.2 MIL IN CHINA
MELTDOWN
17 65+
AGE
MIL
T H E N U C L E A R FA M I LY I S N O M O R E
SHAREDBOND
SINGLES OUTNUMBERED
B Y A C O U P L E D C U LT U R E
EMBRACING
SINGLE-SEX
SOCIAL
CLUBS...
...AWAY FROM
UNWANTED
MALE SINGLE
ATTENTION. IS THE
NEW
W W W. FA I T H P O P C O R N . C O M
BLACK
3. INTRODUCTION
As marriage equality has evolved over the last year we have become wildly aware of
one overlooked group: The Single. It's official. The nuclear family has had a meltdown.
In the last decade Single households have increased by 30% worldwide. By 2020 there
will be 331 million single households globally. The US will lead with 36.3 million followed
by Japan, 31.6 million, and China, 18.2 million. Singles come from every nationality, age
demographic, religion, sexual orientation and gender. But they have one thing in
common. Living uncomfortable and ignored in a married person’s world. In 2013, it’s
changing on every level.
1 STANDARD
2 TREND
3 FAMILY
4 WOMEN
5 LIFESPAN
4. STANDARD
Singledom is creating the new aspiration.
New single role models will emerge to set
the social standard. In the future even the
President will be single.
In 1970 a person who wanted to
remain single their whole life was
considered “sick” by 80% of the pop-
ulation. As 50% of all marriages end in
divorce, is it crazy to be single or
insane to be married? Singles will no
longer be considered less than their
married counterparts. Soon, tradition-
al marriage won’t be considered the
ideal or even the norm.
Major sociological and cultural changes have made
remaining single a viable preference:
• Crumbling Gender Barriers
Growing wage equality and female dominated growth
industries are ending women’s dependence on marriage.
• Current Tax Laws
England’s “couple penalty” actually make being married
more expensive than being single. Many couples will get
tax divorces, ending their marriage on paper while their
relationship continues unchanged.
• Democratization of Education
The advent of distance learning allows us to choose and
change regularly who we want to become, who we want
to be with and what direction we’ll go over and over
throughout our lifetime.
5. TREND
Single is the new black.
Single culture will define
the mainstream trends
of tomorrow.
In much the same way that gay culture
inspires mainstream Trends, Singles are
becoming the new leading edge. They are
cultivators of taste and spending on art, new
cuisine, hobbies and theater. Without the
responsibilities and financial commitments of
marriage, Singles are able to indulge in more
luxury purchases without having to justify or
feel guilty about their splurges and whims.
Singles spend 33% more on themselves than
their married friends with children, accounting
for 1.5 trillion dollars annually. Smart marketers
will look to attract Singles in order to find a
place into the general zeitgeist.
Why go after the Single Consumer?
• Celebration
Single status is being celebrated in the culture. In
2012 China created “Singles Day” to honor its growing
solo population, including parties, karaoke and
massive online discounts which drove sales to record
levels.
• Technology
Singles own more smartphones (49%) than married
people (43%) and utilize more leading edge apps and
programs, like location based tracking and ambient
discovery.
• Dating
Singles are participating in a 24/7 dating ritual in
restaurants, clubs, and both men and women are
heavy consumers of beauty products.
6. 3
family
Children of single
parent families will be
better prepared for
the Future.
Preliminary studies indicate that they are
more adept at handling conflict,
responsibility, disappointment and have a
clearer sense of life priorities than two-parent
children. Their participation in their own
upbringing helps them become more of a
partner with their parent and depend more
on their extended community.
In many ways singles make better
parents than their married friends.
Single homes, free of the stress that
weighs upon many marriages, provide
a more ideal environment for a child.
How will single parenting change the child-rearing
landscape?
• Co-op parenting
Single parents are coming together, whether through
informal networks or communal living arrangements,
providing a trusted organic support system.
• Outsourcing
Singles will give over parenting tasks to aids that
transcend the traditional roles of tutors and nannies. A
new industry will be birthed wherein highly educated
child care professionals serve as life coaches,
personal assistants and paid-godparents.
• Single Motherhood
53% of all children born to women under 30 are born
to single mothers. This number will increase as more
research proves the benefits of Single-parent
households.
7. 4
WOMEN
Single Women will become
the new bachelors, avoiding
long term committed
relationships.
Men and women will adapt to The Single-arity
differently. For women, being single will be easier,
and more beneficial than it is for men simply
because women are better self-nurturers and thus
better able to care for themselves.
The number of single women exploded in the last
three decades. In 1979 only 18% of women under
50 were unmarried. Today 51% find themselves
single and happy to be so.
Their mounting power in society (that we detailed
in last year’s prediction, The SHE-Change) will
make it difficult to find men of equal stature. The
growing number of single-sex social clubs like
Grace Belgravia, where women can share informa-
tion, frustrations, make business and social con-
tacts all away from unwanted male attention are an
indicator of the new female independence.
Single women will continue to grow in power and
influence.
• Voting Power
Barack Obama has always been a favorite amongst
female voters, but in the 2012 election, it was the
unmarried women who cinched his victory, many of
them Hispanic.
• Finances
Single women are out earning men, buying more
homes and outperforming them in the stock market.
Even Warren Buffet is said to invest like a woman by
his fiscally monogamous style.
• Education
By 2016, women are projected to earn 64% of associ-
ates degrees, 60% of bachelor’s degrees, 63% of
master’s degrees, and 56% of doctorates. The propor-
tion of women in law school increased from 3.7% in
1963 to 44% in the academic year 2007– 2008.
8. 5
lifespan
“Till death do you
part” is unrealistic in a
world where people
live past 100.
There are 17 million single Americans over
the age of 65. The unmarried Boomer popu-
lation has grown by 50% since 1980. The
divorce rate among Baby Boomers has
doubled in the last 20 years. 82% of
divorced women 60+ have no desire to get
married again.
As we live longer and the number of
life stages people experience increas-
es, marriages will have an expiration
date with an option to renew. People
will have several of these marriages
throughout a lifetime, with long
stretches of being single in between.
Marriage will no longer be able to keep up with life:
• Divorce Redefined
Newly single Boomers are redefining divorce, turning
dysfunctional marriages into convenient cohabitation
arrangements, mutually beneficial financial relationships,
and deep friendships maintaining family bonds.
• Fertility
New breakthroughs in fertility medicine will make having
babies at seventy a safe and ordinary practice. Premium
sperm and eggs will be so plentiful that Singles will be
able to pick them up at Spermbucks or bid for specialty
samples on Egg-Bay.com.
• Partners
People will no longer seek a life-partner, but instead will
have “lives-partners”; someone to live with, someone to
have children with, someone to vacation with and
someone to have sex with in tandem.
9. singles
Singles will disrupt every facet of our culture
Government and religious organizations will need to adapt to Singles’
relationships, living situations and lifestyles. Look for churches to ritual-
ize different types of relationships beyond marriage. Unfair legislation
that doesn’t treat Singles as equal citizens will be overturned. Powerful
forces in government will fight for the equality of Singles; economically,
politically and socially.
Singles will also be the first to engage in relationships with artificial
intelligence. As behavioral technology and robotics advance,
programs and androids of every shape and size will begin to fulfill the
roles traditionally handled by a spouse, a friend or date. There is
much money and energy being invested in the development of the
first life like sex robot. Think a three dimensional holographic Siri with
a “Christian Grey” persona. More importantly, through technology,
our robotic partners will be able to think, feel and love us back.
The rise of the Single will have a mega impact on Brands and prod-
ucts. Brands will feel the weight of the Single revolution. To
win, it’s message, product size, and retail experience
will have to be reinvented. Japanese appliance
brands are redesigning household products for
smaller living spaces. In Korea restaurants
have started providing solo diners their
own spaces complete with iPods for a
more private experience, while Le
Pain Quotidien’s signature communal
table is always full of mingling
Singles.
Many brands today still see themselves
as “Family Brands”, a dangerous posi-
tion when “Single Brands” will dominate
the consumer landscape.
Single-Arity is the Next Big Thing (NBT)
locally and globally. Marketing, religion,
technology, education, transportation, gov-
ernment will all need to change or face extinc-
tion. The rise of the solo citizen will redefine the
human experience. Welcome or unwelcome, The
Single-arity is here for good, or bad.
Write to me at Faith@Faithpopcorn.com and
share your thoughts and what you've observed.
I'm single, are you? Best Future, Faith